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Chapter Text

         Wind shot up from his bedroll, his breaths coming hot from his chest. Something was wrong. The dreams he had been entangled in were incoherent and vitriolic, the same scenes but different, the same sounds but different, the same people but different. It was somehow more horrifying than his normal nightmares. Breaking free from the loop should have been a relief, a chance for him to catch his breath. But something was wrong. 

         A lump had formed in the back of his throat, and not the kind that preceded tears. Molasses-thick fire ran through his veins, coating his skin with sweat. The moisture made the cold night air nip sharper at his bare skin. The world was topsy turvy around him, lilting from side to side. It only made his stomach roll faster. He didn’t remember when that had started. He swallowed back a mouthful of saliva, cringing at the way his stomach rejected it. 

        Wind had been in enough of these situations to know what he needed to do, even if the thought of moving made his gut churn. Miraculously, everyone was asleep still, and Wind’s little outburst hadn’t been noticed. Even Four, who was supposed to be on watch, was dozing next to the fire. A part of Wind wanted to wake Four, tell him he felt so awful, ask if he had any tea. But he knew that his brother was tired, this was the second night in a row he had had watch. That, and Wind knew that if anyone found out about about the growing pressure in his stomach, he would be coddled and babied to no end. And they would find out.  

        Maybe it’s not too bad, maybe I can just go back to sleep. Wind thought, holding on to a small sliver of hope. I probably just ate too much again. Hesitantly, his abdomen muscles still tensed, he laid back down, clutching his blanket to his chest. He gave himself a couple of good breaths, willing his organs to just obey. 

        His stomach gave an indignant lurch, and he decided that no, he could not go back to sleep and he was indeed about to be very sick whether he liked it or not. He pushed himself up stiffly, trying not to anger his insides more than he had to. Despite his efforts, by the time he reached a standing position, his stomach was flipping and twisting. A jolting cramp lanced through his middle and he slapped a hand over his mouth as a gag was forced out of him. For a moment, horror washed over him as his body threatened to upend his entire digestive system right then and there, in the middle of camp, dangerously close to Twilight’s head. By the grace of Hylia, however, he managed to swallow down the stomach acid that had shot up his throat, and move shakily forward. 

        Wind, as carefully as he could, picked his way through the river of sleeping heroes. His heart hammered in his chest as he narrowly avoided stepping on Legend’s fingers. 

        He had barely stumbled past the tree line before he was forcefully ejecting the contents of his stomach against his will. When he wasn’t heaving up precious nutrients, he was trying to wind his arm tighter around his stomach in hopes to quell the agonizing shots of pain. Steady streams of tears blazed down his cheeks, puffing up his eyes and making his nose run. He noticed, with no small amount of dread, that he could in fact scarcely breathe through his congested sinuses. 

       There was a blessed lull in the hitching of his stomach and he took a moment to catch his breath. The world swirled in a twirl of blues and purples. Wind braced his arm on the side of a tree, stumbling over to it like a drunken sea captain. The lull did not last long, and with a painful gurgle, Wind brought up another flood of vomit. He had no air in his lungs by the end of it, and he gasped in a breath. His throat caught and he ended up in a violent coughing fit, so forceful it made him gag again. 

       Blessedly, his stomach calmed down slightly after that. The world slowly stopped spinning. His head pounded, so hard he could hear it. Had the headache always been there? His limbs were buzzing and aching from the effort of his organs attempting to turn themselves inside out. 

       A few minutes passed by, and Wind felt his breathing even out. He was fine. He didn’t feel good still, but he was fine. It had probably just been something he ate, the chills racking his body were just a result of the nausea. The headache must have been too. He was fine. He would wake up the next morning and feel better. Yeah, nothing some sleep couldn’t fix. No reason for anyone to worry. 

       No reason for anyone to think something was wrong. That something had been wrong for weeks.

Chapter Text

        Legend shook the agitation from his hands and huffed, trying to ignore the pressing nervousness in the back of his throat. The air was eerily quiet, there was no birdsong, and no pitter-patter of forest rodents. It was utter silence, except for the babble of his brothers. 

       “Legend, what are these little pieces of crap?! They’re everywhere!” Twilight lamented, bringing his sword down on another small, lizard-like monster with a huge beak and feathers. The mere half a foot of the creature screeched in a puff of purple smoke. Legend sighed, because they had ended up in Lorule somehow. Legend had always been interested in the inner workings of magic, but this time, he really did not want to know what kind of shenanigans had landed them here. Whatever the purpose was for their being in the dark realm, he wasn’t entirely sure. If the shadow had found a way to reach the dark realm, that opened up a whole new slew of possibilities, but Legend couldn’t dwell on it right then. 

      “Those are Snap Dragons,” Legend responded to Twilight’s complaint “And their sole purpose in this world is to be in the way, and then die” he deadpanned. His shoe connected with one of the creatures and he watched it pathetically flop over and explode into smoke. No, he could not focus on what they were doing there. Because in Lorule, next to nothing grew without cultivation. That included food. And where had they been dropped? Days away from civilization. 

       “Well, they oughta die a tad faster,” Twilight growled. 

       “I think it’s fun,” Warriors drawled, casting a smug sideways glance at Twilight as the latter bared his teeth. 

       “Oh, come on you two, they’re really pretty cute.” Sky chirped, smiling fondly at the Snap Dragon squaring up in front of him. Before Twilight could point out otherwise, the monster had sprung and landed with a smack! on Sky’s face. Sky yelped and pawed it off, rubbing his nose. 

      “Less cute.” He muttered. Twilight chuckled and made a snide remark about Sky’s intelligence, but honestly Legend couldn’t have cared less. He did not understand how they could be so nonchalant and carefree when they were all in such a precariously stable situation. They had been running out of food before the portal switch, and now they had been left with just enough to get them to civilization. If they got slowed down, they would be put in a seriously dangerous spot with supplies. The meals had already been slimmed down, and Hyrule was far more subdued than normal due to a lack of frequent snacks throughout the day. In some ways, the situation was more foreboding than a pack of monsters. Legend scratched his neck and tried to think of something different, anything really. 

      Four smiled as he walked backwards, watching Warriors and Twilight banter. Wild scampered up to them, clutching handfuls of colorful Snap Dragon feathers with a big mischievous grin. Despite Legend’s repeated assurances that the feathers were useless, Wild insisted on picking them all up. It was grating on Legend’s nerves, but nobody else seemed to mind. Well, perhaps except Wind, but he had been in a foul mood all morning. Actually, Legend wouldn’t really call it foul, because it was more just… wrong. Quiet, snippy, lost in thought. He just looked tired. If he hadn’t been acting the same for the past several months, Legend would have been more worried. 

      Wild sidled up to Legend with three bubblegum pink feathers in his right hand. Legend saw out of the corner of his eye that Sky was arranging several feathers of different colors in his hair, and Legend had a sneaking suspicion he knew where this was going. 

     “No,” he answered, before Wild even asked. The Champion pouted, but walked away and over to Wind. Wind did not seem to notice that he was being approached, and if he did he was ignoring it. 

     “Sometimes I question Wild’s intellect.” Four piped up beside Legend. Legend startled. Four had to stop doing that. 

     “Sometimes?” He challenged. Four snorted.
     “Fair.” He conceded. “But sometimes more so than others.” 

     Legend nodded, wincing at the way Wind’s expression screamed “don’t talk to me”. It was so unlike their sailor that it made Legend’s gut twist. Four fumbled with sticking a feather into his hair, fingers trembling with the action. Legend blinked, tilting his head. 

     “Why are your hands shaking?” 

     Four’s eyes widened slightly, as if he hadn’t realized they were. 

     “O-oh, um… I don’t know. Probably just hungry.” He answered. Something about the explanation didn’t seem right to Legend, but he brushed it off and tucked it away in his mind for later. 

     “Is it just me or has Wind been off this morning?” Four asked suddenly, blurting it out like he had been keeping the question behind bars. 

     “You mean more off than usual?” He grunted. 

      “You’ve noticed it too then? I thought it might have just been me.” 

     “Yeah. I think everyone has, to some extent. I know Time and Warriors have been keeping a closer eye on him, but they’re both a bit occupied with the food situation at the moment.” Legend admitted. Four nodded and sighed, looking over at the sailor. Legend hadn’t really been paying attention to it, but now that he looked closer, Wind looked… definitely worse than off. He walked  hunched over, arms wrapped around himself. His knuckles were pale, dark circles under his eyes. 

         Alarm bells started ringing in Legend’s head. This was definitely not normal. He smacked himself for not noticing sooner, it was so obvious! He had been so preoccupied with their… predicament he hadn’t seen. Four’s brow furrowed and he picked at his collar, eyes flashing crimson. 

       “I-I don’t think he’s okay.” He stammered, voice quivering. Okay, that wasn’t normal either. Was Lorule switching everything around or was Legend dreaming? 

       “What’s up with you?” He snapped, forgetting to soften his tone. “You’re acting weird.” The tension in his shoulders had creeped into his voice. Four flinched, but then rounded on Legend, bristling. 

        “Oh, well forgive me for being concerned! I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to have feelings. Sorry, I’ll just not be worried next time.” He quipped, teeth dripping with sarcasm. Legend scowled and pulled ahead ever so slightly. 

         “No, I mean you’re acting weird, you’ve been fidgeting nonstop, your hands are shaking, and you just stammered. Two of those things I have never seen you do.” He shot back. Four was about to respond when a stern clearing of someone’s throat interrupted him. Warriors was now in front of them, walking backwards with incredible skill, with one eyebrow raised. 

       “Is something the matter you two?” He asked. Clearly, he was not in a playful mood. 

        “Something’s wrong with Wind.” Legend answered. Warriors dropped his Captain’s Facade quicker than he could take a shot and looked over to Wind, turning back around to walk normally. Legend watched Warriors tense his shoulders as he looked over Wind. 

        “Hylia, you’re right.” He muttered, drifting over towards the sailor. Legend decided to turn back to Four. 

         …

        Four was gone. Legend whipped around looking for him, only to see him laughing and conversing with Sky and Wild. He was smiling just a bit too broadly for Legend’s taste. 

=========

        Wind should… probably say something. He probably should have said something when he woke up to a painful cough and pounding headache. He should have said something when the light got to be too much or when his legs started to turn to chu jelly. He probably should have said something the moment that he realized he was sick. Very sick. 

        Yet here he was, trudging along, forcing his body to do things it didn’t have the energy for like walking. And was he saying anything? No. Under any other circumstances, he would. But… not if saying something meant possibly having to explain why his wrists were so narrow and his ribs were clearly visible. Because if someone were looking him over for illness, there is no way that they wouldn’t notice that. 

       And if making sure nobody knew meant putting one foot in front of the other for a few hours more, then he would gladly do it. Now if only he could get rid of these dizzy spells. 

       His stomach cramped harshly and he held back a grimace. He wasn’t nauseous, but the couple of bites of food he had managed that morning were not sitting well. 

       “Sailor!” Warriors called as he approached. Why was he all the way at the back of the pack? When did Wind get to the back of the pack? 

       “Mm?” Wind hummed, acknowledging Warriors. 

       “Hey, you alright? You look a little pale.” The Captain pointed out. At the knowledge that Warriors noticed, that he knew something was up, Wind’s body tried to shut down on him. Lightheadedness came over him in a vicious wave, but he staved it off. 

       “‘M fine. Just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” He replied, then cleared his throat. Cyclos, he had not realized his voice was going to be that scratchy. Warriors narrowed his eyes. Wind tensed and moved away ever so slightly, hoping that Warriors would catch a hint. 

        “Alright… well you know if you need a break, just let someone know.”  

        Wind nodded, choking down the tickle in his throat. He waited until Warriors had walked away to cough outright. His chest burned with the effort. Really, he would be okay. He would just calm his fluttering heart down and breathe, and he would be okay. He just… couldn’t let anyone know. 

        Maybe it was the fatigue, or maybe it was the fever, probably a combination of both, but Wind’s thoughts slowly turned to memories. Muddled visions of half-eaten bowls of stew and barely nibbling on some bread, expertly spooning smaller portions onto his plate. Dull, muted panic when he didn’t feel like he could keep down more than a few bites of his absolute favorite meals. It felt so numbingly scary now, like seeing danger at a distance. He was tired, and full, and he didn’t want to be full. Not when what he’d eaten that morning barely constituted as a couple mouthfuls. 

        Wind looked up, realizing that he had drifted behind the pack. The motion of moving his head up made the ground tilt underneath him and he awkwardly shuffled to the side to rebalance. Legend motioned him towards the group with a shout, and Wind tried to focus on it. He was going to have to jog to catch up, wasn’t he? 

        His vision swam as he started running, desperately aiming for Legend. He could just run for a few seconds to catch up. He could do that. Dark spots started to blot out the trees. 

        Okay, new objective: don’t pass out. He slowed down to a chu’s pace, out of breath already. The trees blurred with the ground, tunneling his view. All thoughts of secrecy were put to the side as each small step sent prickles up his actively rebelling limbs. 

       “Ledge wait… wait up I don’t…” Wind paused as everything whirled again, forcing a wobble out of him. Legend had already backtracked and was mere feet away from him, though he could only tell by the vaguely maroon blob approaching. 

      “I don’t feel so good.” 

=========

        Legend barely managed to break Wind’s fall as the sailor’s knees buckled. The impact sent both of them to the ground, skidding to a halt in the dust of the path. He bit out a curse as a stray pebble sliced his knee open. Wind slumped against his chest and groaned, still conscious but barely. 

      “Hey!! Everyone hold up! Wind just collapsed!” Four called as he stopped beside Legend. Several gasps and questions arose, and soon the rest of them were backtracking. Legend looked at Wind’s shaking form in his arms, and calmed his racing mind just enough to ask a question.

      “Sailor where are you injured?” He demanded. Despite the venom trying to sneak past his tongue, he managed to soften his words a little. Wind gripped Legend’s tunic with white knuckles.

       “N-not… injured… jus’ dizzy”he broke off into a pathetic little coughing fit that rose to full hacking. 

       “Bullsh—“ 

       “Wait, Legend.” Four interrupted calmly. He wove his hand under Wind’s bangs. The boy tried to flinch away but it was too late. Four chewed his lip and backed away a step, stiffening slightly. 

         “He’s on fire.” He said quietly. Legend repositioned himself to check, finding the fever sweat and glassy eyes he recognized all too well. He sighed but it quickly turned into a frustrated growl. 

        “Wind, why didn’t you tell anyone?? This could have been avoided and now we’re all slowed—“ 

       “Legend! That’s enough.” Time commanded. Legend huffed, his stress boiling over. 

      “No, y’know what? Wind knows that we’re in a tough spot and he should have recognized that he needed to get help. At least he should if he’s as mature as he says he is—“ 

       “Oh, so it’s so much more mature when you hide your wound infection for three days?” Four asked dryly. Legend growled and was about to mention the time that Four “forgot” about his broken wrist when Time sighed. 

       “Twilight, get Wind’s water. Wind? Can you hear me?” Time asked, crouching down beside them. Legend’s heart thumped against his chest. They literally did not have the time for this. They did not have the resources to stop and wait for Wind to recover, even for just a day. Hyrule was too reliant on food for magic and the group was too reliant on Hyrule for healing. How could Wind have been so idiotic? 

“I… I can walk. Just… just a minute.” Wind mumbled, pushing himself off of Legend. The boy wavered on his knees, losing the little color he had managed to gain while he had been sitting. Sky crouched down and caught his arm before he tipped over, worry painting his soft features.

       “It’s alright, Wind. Just breathe, you’re okay.” Sky soothed. 

“Yeah, shut up and listen to Time.” Legend snapped. He had… honestly meant to make it sound a little nicer. Wind put a hand on the ground as he sat back down, seeming more woozy than he had before. His body forced more coughs out of him, but this time he managed to cover his face with his arm. Time turned to Warriors. 

“Any idea what this could be?” He asked. Warriors scratched his head, a nervous tic he had always had, and crouched down with the small huddle of heroes.

“Wind, what are your other symptoms?” 

        “Um…” Wind paused, clearly having to think about it. “Head hurts. Throat. Dizzy.” He rasped. Legend stood up, no longer needed to support Wind as Sky was doing a very good job of that. The cut on his knee oozed, but he ignored it. 

       “Does your stomach hurt?”

        Wind bit his lip and shook his head. Legend saw Four relax out of the corner of his eye. Okay, something was definitely going on with Four. 

        “I knew I should have called for a break.” Warriors sighed “Time, it sounds to me like a flu, but it could be any upper respiratory virus.” He reported, checking Wind’s fever for himself. “His temperature isn’t dangerous yet, but it’s not far off. I don’t think he should walk. I’ll—“ 

       “You are not carrying him.” Time said firmly. “Not with that ankle.” 

       Warriors winced and stood back up, purposefully putting weight on his rather twisted ankle. They hadn’t had any red potions or elixirs to heal it, and again, Hyrule’s magic was being reserved for emergencies. The Captain’s limp had been getting worse all day. 

      “It’s alright, I can handle it for a while—“ 

       “Shut up, I’ll carry him for a while.” Legend grunted. His declaration left no room for arguing, and anyone who looked like they were going to oppose him he shot a nasty glare. Wind sniffed and pouted, but knew better than to argue. Legend let loose a breath, wincing as his chest twinged. He didn’t know if they could be fast enough, not with Wind down. And while Legend didn’t know much about working in a group, Warriors had made it abundantly clear that illness was dangerous. Not just for the sick, but for the healthy too. If the way Warriors was skating around Wind like a biohazard was any indication, they could all be in a bad spot. 

        Legend tried to piece together a plan, something to help them get there faster. The only ones he could think of involved splitting up, something that they absolutely could not do in Lorule. It was a dangerous place in the first place, and that’s if you were traveling alone. Groups of any size were made a target for monsters. They hadn’t found any strange or black-blooded monsters yet, but it likely would not take long. 

       Legend sighed and held out his hand to help Wind stand. 

       “Everyone needs to be washing their hands at every opportunity. Don’t touch your face, lick your hands, or anything of the sort. If anyone starts feeling sick, they need to come clean. This isn’t to be messed around with. Wind will need to be kept separate in campsites, and contact limited…” Warriors ranted, going over every possible precaution that they couldn’t take in a forest. Legend helped Wind onto his back, not failing to notice the look of relief in the kid’s features. Yeah, Legend would be relieved too if he were that sick and no longer needed to walk.

       The chain fell back into their formation, everyone on edge and sending worried glances towards Wind. Wind felt like barely anything, in comparison to the last time Legend had held him. Or at least… he felt lighter than he should. Legend’s head rang as he started walking with the rest of the chain, easily bearing Wind. 

        Maybe… maybe he was just imagining it. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him. And yet… if the way Wind’s elbows were digging into Legend’s muscles were any indication…

Legend huffed out his tension and tried to stop his heart from beating so fast. As long as they could travel with Wind, they would be okay. They would get to food in time. Wind would be okay. Legend felt fire roll in his gut at the knowledge that Wind would only get worse as long as they traveled, but he quickly stuffed it down. They didn’t have a choice. 

Chapter Text

        Legend shoved Wind up further up his back to prevent him from sliding down, and bit back a hiss at how his body wanted to seize up at the movement. His back was aching after being in the same position for so long, and his biceps burned with the effort of keeping Wind’s unconscious body from falling to the ground. It had been a few hours since the kid collapsed, and Legend was starting to regret offering to carry him. 

       That being said, Legend definitely had not been expecting to last this long. He was the most experienced, sure, he could solve puzzles like no one’s business, but he was not the most physically apt, especially with how his joints acted up on him. 

        Carrying Wind was uncomfortable, but Legend did not feel that he couldn’t go on any longer.  He took a deeper breath, acknowledging the shortness of air in his lungs. It would do no good to worry. He had to gather more information before that. 

      Once again adjusting his grip on Wind, Legend jogged a couple of steps up in the group to where Four was chatting with Twilight. The tension of the smith’s shoulders and fervent glancing around from that morning was gone, and Legend narrowed his eyes but didn’t comment. 

       “Now the trick is to apply a really thin layer. I usually make a thicker layer and then wipe the excess away. The last thing you want is for the metal to be oily—“ 

       “Hey, Smith?” Legend piped up. Four stopped talking and sent an annoyed look towards him. 

       “Legend, what have I told you about interrupting me while I’m yapping?” He asked calmly. 

      “I know, I know.” Legend sighed, rolling his eyes. “But you’ll want to know about this. How much do you weigh?” 

       Twilight tilted his head, eyebrows furrowing up. Four huffed and crossed his arms. 

       “Ninety. I swear if this is a short joke, you may suddenly find that all of your bottles have been filled with grass.” He replied hotly. Legend chuffed out a laugh and shook his head. 

      “Not a short joke, I learned my lesson the first time. Twilight, will you take Wind for a second? I want him back, but I need to run an experiment.” 

         “Alright… and what’s this got to do with Four’s weight?” Twilight asked, shifting over to lift Wind off of Legend’s back. 

Legend fought to stifle a sigh of relief as the weight was taken off of him. He straightened out his muscles and uncomfortable prickles replaced the stabbing aches. Wind stirred slightly at the change in position, but didn’t wake, coughing in his sleep as he buried his head into Twilight’s pelt. Twilight settled Wind into a bridal carry, and his eyebrows shot to his hairline. 

         “Woah, he’s really l—“ 

         “Light? Yeah, I know.” Legend interrupted. No reason to state the obvious. Without much fanfare or warning for that matter, Legend turned on Four and shoved his arms under his, lifting him up to test his weight. Four let out an indignant little squeak, but knew better than to struggle and ruin the results. Legend frowned deeper when Four’s small form required more effort to lift than Wind’s. Not by much, but still. That meant Wind was under ninety pounds. 

        “This feels like an invasion of privac—“ Four’s complaint was cut off by Legend unceremoniously letting him fall back to the ground. Four glared at him like a little kitten with all of its fur bushed out. Legend massaged the spot between his brows and motioned for Twilight to hand Wind back over. The rancher reluctantly moved over and set the sailor back on Legend’s back. If the vet’s muscles screamed at him without mercy, no one knew. 

        Twilight gave Four a hesitant little pat before lifting him up, testing the weight for himself. Four glowered at him, eyes flashing blue. Twilight frowned and set Four down, at least having the grace to look apologetic. 

       “I might be wrong in the head but… I reckon Wind’s s’posed to weigh more th’n Four, not less.” Twilight sighed after a moment. They were a good ways behind the group now, the frequent stops to trade Wind over having slowed them down. Legend turned his gaze to the ground and bit his lip. Four’s eyes went wide and the annoyance was gone as fast as it had come. 

        “No, that is definitely not normal. He may be thinner than I am, but his height would more than make up for it. How did—“ Four cut himself off and started fluttering around Wind and Legend as they steadily caught up with the group. Four’s hands swiftly pulled back one of Wind’s sleeves. All three of them winced at the way his wrist bone jutted out from his skin. Four was about to move to Wind’s torso when Legend shifted away. 

       “I can feel his ribs even through the fabric.” He muttered. Four took his hand back and held it to his chest, shoulders as tense as they were that morning and eyes a blazing a shade of violet. Twilight shifted uncomfortably and chewed his lip as he walked. They were silent, for a while, but the gears turning in their heads weren’t. Suddenly the situation—being stuck in the middle of Lorule with limited supplies and a sick member—faded to the background. There was something far worse in their midst. 

        “You think he was sick fer longer ‘n he let on?” Twilight suggested hopefully. Four shook his head. 

        “We would have noticed him dropping weight that quickly. This has been going on for months.” He spoke, his words deliberate but wavering. He blinked and shook his head out. Legend nodded, stretching out his neck. His muscles seized up and he had to fight not to curse at the sharp pain. 

        “Do we tell Time? He should know about—“ 

       “No.” Four interrupted, giving Twilight a look. “We wait for Wind’s consent first. They likely will find out but it should either be his idea or accident.” 

       Legend nodded. That, and they weren’t even sure what was going on. If they implied anything to whoever they were telling they risked spreading false information. Wind needed to come clean himself before anyone else was told. 

       Twilight clenched a fist around his wolf pelt, tense with worry and his inability to fix the problem. Instead of dwelling, he jogged to catch up with the main group, plastering on a smile as he jumped into a conversation. Legend couldn’t suppress a wince as a harsh twinge went through his back muscles, and he hunched over further to try and give himself some relief. Four narrowed his eyes. 

     “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry him?” He asked. Legend shook his head. 

     “You wouldn’t be able to if you wanted to, short stop.” He grunted. Four scowled. 

     “I can lift twice my body weight, and I think I can hear your spine cracking, Vet.” He teased. 

     “Did you just call me old?” Legend growled. Four shrugged his shoulders and smiled smugly. 

     “Hey, if the shoe fits.” 

     Legend was about to respond when a shot of pain lanced up his back and his vision went fuzzy. 

     “…fine, you win.” 

========

       Four smiled despite the anxious thoughts running through his head, a talent that he wasn’t sure how he procured, but was definitely sure that he was the only Link that possessed it, at least to this level. Usually, if one of them was in some sort of emotional pain, it was written all over their face, however hard they might try and hide it, but not Four. Four could be on the verge of a breakdown and nobody would notice, except maybe Sky. 

      That being said, it didn’t mean that Four didn’t feel anxious. The way his chest felt tight and his heart was beating like a ticking time bomb was proof of that. But at least he could ignore it for some time more and focus on keeping balance. And the onslaught of snap dragons and moblins, he could focus on that too. Honestly, it had been lucky that they hadn’t run into a hive earlier, with how Legend went on and on about their numbers. 

       When the first moblin had burst from the bushes, Sky had just barely managed to thrust the Master Sword into its chest before it hit Twilight. When the second and third appeared, all traveling slammed to a halt. Before Four knew it, Warriors, Time, Twilight, and Legend were forming a protective circle around he and Wind. Four itched to pull the Four Sword from its hilt and fight off the monsters, but Wind was still unconscious on his back. He could maybe find a safe spot to lay Wind down…

         Come on, we have to fight! There are so many of them! 

         No way are we going to put Wind down. That’s just inviting for some monster to pick him off. 

         We’d never be able to live with ourselves.

         Will you three just shut up? It’s hard enough keeping upright as it is! 

         Four shook out his head to slow the ebb and flow of his consciousness, just in time to hear a piercing whoosh just beside his ear. A sharp pain nicked his shoulder. A superficial scratch, but an annoying one at that. He tightened his grip on Wind and whipped around, searching for the source of the arrow. A separate projectile whizzed just in front of his nose seconds later, indicating multiple archers. He ducked, ending up in a rather ridiculous crouching position with his legs wide to keep balance. 

        There! Up in the trees! 

         Where!?

         Right there, Red, use our eyes! 

         Four locked eyes with a grisly looking bokoblin, knocking another arrow in the cover of trees. It looked like one of Twilight’s bokoblin archers. 

        “Archers!” Four yelled, hoping to draw attention to them. He was pretty much a sitting duck, unable to push past the protective circle. 

       Hyrule caught Four’s plea and locked eyes with the two bokoblins, scrambling up the tree and knocking it off its branch. Four looked over just in time to see the other archer loosening a second arrow. His heart dropped, and he barely had time to twist his body so that the arrow found its home in his bicep rather than Wind’s back. He couldn’t help a shrill cry of pain as the arrowhead hit him with a thunk and pinned the sleeve of his shirt to his skin. 

        Owww..

        It’s not that bad, Red.

        Yeah, except for the fact we have an arrow sticking out of our arm! 

        “Four!” Sky’s concerned yelp cut through the conversation in Four’s head. He stifled a groan through his teeth and gave Sky a sharp look. 

        “Later, Sky, ARCHERS!” He shouted. Sky snapped out of mother hen mode and locked eyes with the other archer. Four scanned the area for any more monsters wielding projectiles, and let himself relax a little when he saw none. In fact, there seemed to be less monsters than heroes at that point. 

       Gradually the noise died down and puffs of smoke were erupting in several places. Four felt Wind stir on his back. 

          After all that, he wakes up after the fighting is done?  

        Four tried to keep Wind steady, but his bicep was burning and he could almost feel the blood draining from his face. 

         Okay, no one panic, but I think we might need to sit down a minute. 

         Yeah, thanks captain obvious. We’re bleeding from an arrow wound. 

         And don’t forget Wind, he’s basically smothering us. 

         We have it handled! We’re carrying him just fine. 

         “Four?” Wind mumbled, ripping Four from his thoughts. “Wha’happen?” 

         Four tried to widen his stance to keep steady. His voice shook with the knowledge that there was a goddess-forsaken arrow sticking out of his arm. 

         “Just some monsters, we took care of them.” 

         “Oh… you have ‘n arrow…” 

         “I know, I know. C-can I put you down a minute?” 

         There was a slight hesitation, and then a nod, and Four quickly let Wind slide off of his back. He shuddered with relief and almost rammed straight into a tree adjusting to the weight diffference. Sky appeared in front of him, wearing a worried look on his face. 

         “Hey, are you alright?” He questioned, a hand on Four’s shoulder to keep him steady. Four nodded, trying to quell the shaking. 

          “Yeah, I can take care of it. Do we have any potions?” He asked. Sky bit his lip, glancing towards the ground. Four swallowed, catching the hesitation. 

         “I don’t need a whole one, maybe just a third?” He said hopefully. Sky gave a nod and fished through his bag, successfully retrieving a red potion. It was a sad excuse for one, barely even a fourth full. Four gladly took it. At least it was something. 

         “Sorry I don’t have more,” Sky apologized. Four shook his head. 

          “It’s alright, thanks.” 

          “Do you need help with the arrow?” 

         “No, I got it, go make sure the others are alright.” 

          Sky was gone with a nervous smile, and Four leaned up against the nearby trunk of a gray tree. A series of wet coughs sounded from a few feet away and Four looked over to see Wind in a heated argument with Legend. 

          “I’ll be fine, I’m not dizzy anymore.” He claimed, the weariness in his voice betraying him. 

           Right, focus on the arrow in our arm. 

          But what about Wind! 

           Oh, we should count to three before we take it out! 

          That’s so stupid. 

          No, it really works it’s like… hyping us up or something. 

          We are not doing that. 

           1….  

          “Absolutely not. We are not having a repeat of earlier, and your fever could spike. I don’t know why you’re arguing this, you know better.” Legend said firmly. 

           2… 

           Stop counting. Please. 

           “But I’m finneeee I’ll tell someone if I don’t wanna walk anymore.” Wind whined. 

           3. 

           I can’t believe you got away with that. 

           “No, you won’t, because you won’t be walking. We don’t have time for this, Wind. If you had said something this morning maybe it would be different, but you didn’t. I’m not going to blindly believe you and neither is anyone else.” 

         Four wrapped his fingers tight around the wooden shaft of the arrow, and yanked with all his might until he felt the skin of his arm released from the arrowhead’s hold. Ice-hot pain washed over him like a flood, finally setting it. He let a grunt past his teeth as dizziness overcame his consciousness for a brief moment. He had to dig his fingernails into the bark of the tree to stay standing. It was hard to breathe, when had he gotten so winded?

          He felt warmth seep through his sleeve, spreading like an evil plague, and suddenly remembered the more pressing matter at hand: stopping the bleeding. He should sit down, yes, that’s good. With trembling and blood-soaked hands, he sifted through his satchel for a roll of bandages. The items inside twisted and swirled together in a mess of color. It reminded him of when metal was first melted, all shiny and beautiful and perfect, like her eyes when the sunset hit them just right, and oh he was getting sidetracked again. What was he doing? Right, bandages. 

          His hand finally found the haphazard roll and latched onto it. Everything felt numb, and he fumbled with unbuttoning his tunic as the ground swayed side to side, and oh Hylia when had he started feeling so nauseous? 

            We’re going to throw up. 

            No, we’re not, don’t say that! 

            We’ll just get the wound fixed up, that will make the nausea go away. 

             We’re going to throw up. 

             Quit, Blue!

              But we are going to throw up! 

              Four finally yanked off his undershirt, feeling his bare arms prickle against the breeze. He was not going to throw up. Not happening. The ground beneath him tilted and his stomach gave an ominous lurch. 

              We might throw up. 

               “Din’s sake, Four, let me.” 

              Hyrule’s blurry fringe blocked the sun from Four’s vision. The roll of bandages was taken from his hands and Four heaved a sigh of relief that he didn’t have to look at the hole in his arm any longer. His stomach settled slightly. 

             “When were you gonna tell me that you took an arrow, eh?” The medic teased. Four’s muddled brain forgot that Hyrule was capable of such humor, and before he realized what he was doing, stammered apologies were spilling from his mouth between breathless gasps. 

            “Easy, it was a rhetorical question. I’ll get this wrapped up, and then… oh good, you already have a potion.”

          Four nodded. At least he had done something right. Hyrule gave him a half smile, moving to start the bandaging. 

        “That’s good. Try to take some deep breaths okay? You’re pale.” 

         Four gave another nod, trying to reel himself back into place. A breath in through his nose, out through his mouth. His vision cleared some, his head quieting about the possibility of throwing up. That was good. Worked up over nothing, that’s all it was. 

         Hyrule tied off the bandage as Four finally got himself back under control, the buzzy feeling going away. 

        “Drink the potion. And let me know if you need healing past it. Are you alright?” Hyrule asked, forest eyes round with concern. Four nodded again and managed a little smile. 

        “Yes, I’m okay. Thanks Rulie.” He assured. Hyrule patted his shoulder and turned to walk towards a prone Warriors, cradling his ankle. It was bent at an odd angle and very clearly broken. Hyrule dropped to his knees without hesitation, working quickly to set the bone before he could heal it. 

        Letting his shoulders drop, Four sank to the ground and wasted no time in knocking back the mouthful of potion in the bottle. Most of the pain leeched out of his arrow wound, and he took one last deep breath as everything settled back into place. A soft flump sounded just next to him and he opened his eyes to see Wind had settled next to him. He immediately flinched back when Wind erupted with a round of barely covered coughs. Four quietly put a hand on Wind’s back as the kid went redder in the face than he already was with the force of his coughs. Finally, Wind seemed to catch his breath, and he sat back with a pathetic little sniffle. He rubbed the water from his eyes, accidentally smearing snot all over his cheek in the process. Four resisted the urge to cringe at the sight, and instead dug around in his bag a moment to find a handkerchief. It was the one he used to wipe off his blade, but it was clean nonetheless. Wind at first eyed the cloth warily, unsure if he should accept the gesture. Then his nose began to run afresh and he snatched it from Four’s hand with a muttered expletive. 

        A few moments of blowing and coughing later, the cloth was thrust back at Four in a wad. Four silently just pushed Wind’s hand away, and his younger brother seemed to get the message. 

       “Thanks.” Wind muttered, stuffing the cloth into his pocket. 

       “Of course.” Four said with a nod. He then corked his potion and went to put his tunic back on. The pain in his arm was still there, but dull and hardly noticeable. He would be—

      “What, no ‘maybe if you hadn’t hidden it?’ No… no ‘told ya so?’” Wind asked incredulously. Four blinked, startled by the sudden outburst. Then a bubble of laughter rose from his chest and he couldn’t help but let it out. 

      “You have been spending too much time with Legend. No, that’s not my top concern right now. Plus, I can hardly speak. I wouldn’t have been able to take care of that arrow without Hyrule’s help and I wasn’t asking for it when he came.”  He explained, lacing his tunic back up. Wind relaxed with a small “huh”. 

        Four let a pause drag on between them, slowly realizing exactly what he had just admitted to Wind. And the strange thing was, there was no involuntary burning of his cheeks or uncomfortable fidgeting. Wind could know, and it was okay. 

         He had never noticed how easy Wind was to talk to compared to the others, but he was. Wind was just… easy. He was carefree and full of childlike wonder and reminded Four so much of himself from his younger days, pre-four sword that was. 

         Wind had been through as much as any of them had, and it showed in his wisdom. Wind was just easy, though, this was the first time he had been easy in months. And the stark contrast hit Four like not the final, but a contributing nail in the coffin. 

        Four tightened his belt and peeled a bit of dried skin from his lip with his teeth. Wind had since relaxed onto Four’s shoulder, his burning cheek radiating warmth throughout the fabric.

         “You feeling any better?” Four asked, keeping his voice down as the rest of the chain gathered themselves. Wind wriggled uncomfortably.

         “No.” He muttered. “Everything hurts.” 

          Four sighed and wrapped an arm around Wind, subtly feeling for a temperature. It was only slightly down from earlier, but that was something. 

         “I’m sorry. Hopefully we’ll get to Legend’s house—“ 

          “Come on, cuddle-keese! We’re moving out!” 

========

         Four was fine. He was really, very fine. Sure, without anything to focus on he was just running through the possibilities of what would happen if he was correct in his assumption that Wind’s flu came with an upset stomach, and what if he was really good at hiding it, and whatifwindthrewupwhatifitgotalloverhim—

         But he was fine. Four was fine. 

         Except he wasn’t, because he couldn’t think about anything else. He tried to attach himself to the conversations the others were having, but none of the topics piqued his interest. He tried to keep track of how many snap dragons each Link felled, but keeping up with seven scores was too much, even for Four. Nothing was working, and his attention was forced to every minute movement that Wind made. 

          He and Wind had been talking a bit, exchanging small phrases between coughing fits. That had been good distraction, but then Wind went quiet. It was gradual, starting with more pauses between answers and eventually resulting in the conversation dying. Wind wasn’t asleep, his breaths that tickled Four’s ear were too uneven for that. Even then, Four hadn’t felt any real anxiety build up, just vague foreboding. The first shot of fear came from when Wind shifted. Like he was uncomfortable. 

     I’m sure it was nothing. 

     Yeah, maybe he had an itch.

     Or maybe-

     No!

     Four tried to keep his mind on something else, he really did. Legend was ranting about something or other again, going on about… switches and… sprinting? Honestly trying to piece together the scenario was too overwhelming for his already divided mind.

     Four never would have thought he would be so attuned to the actions of one person that he would notice them swallowing, but the wet squelch Wind’s throat made was unmistakeable. Suddenly Legend’s rambling faded into the background and Four did his best to ignore the way that his chest was seizing up. Swallowing meant there had been something in Wind’s mouth. Saliva, and saliva meant- 

     Guys, we need to calm down. I’m sure he’s fine.

     Right, right, it’s all fine.

     But given the circumstances-

     SHUT UP VIO 

     Four was just ready to stop his counted breaths when Wind swallowed for a second time. Swallowing twice within the span of a couple minutes meant an excess of saliva. And an excess of saliva meant- no, he shouldn’t get ahead of himself.

      “You alright, Wind?” Four asked, expertly smothering his fear with concern. There was a slight pause. Wind shifted again. 

     “…yeah.” Wind’s voice shook like a leaf in the breeze, so quiet that even Four could barely hear it. It was wrong, so wrongwrongwrong. 

     He was stuck carrying a sick Wind, who was acting uncomfortable, weak, and swallowing far too often.  He needed to get away, before it happened, before Four’s little cabin of calm and collected was destroyed. 

     Let’s give Wind to Legend, then we can find some kind of excuse to leave.

     But then we’d look like an absolute coward! Not happening.

     But you do understand the predicament, right? 

     Yeah, but… 

     If we run off, who knows how long it’ll take to be over. We don’t know how close Wind is to-

     “F-four?” Wind whimpered, clutching Four’s tunic sleeve with a sudden urgency. Four felt his stomach shrivel up like a raisin. Shit.

     “Yeah?” He apprehensively prompted. Wind shivered. 

     “I-I need to get down.” Four stopped dead in his tracks before Wind even finished speaking. He was already practically dropping Wind to the ground as gently as he could, wishing his heart wasn’t threatening to break out of his rib cage. Wind’s face was white as a ghost, and his breathing was hard and quaking. He stood with bracing rigidity, arms wrapped firmly around his stomach. 

Four sucked in a breath through his mouth, his thoughts weaving into each other and creating a writhing, tangled mess. He had to get away, no he had to stay for Wind, he had to help—

Run-

-help-

-get someone-

-RUN-

=========

Sky’s ear flicked, swiveling towards a voice he hadn’t heard in a while. Wind and Four were at the back of the pack, and too far a distance and too covered up by the others that Sky couldn’t exactly parse out what they were saying but… it did not sound good. 

Sky was well known in the group for being a mother cuckoo, fussing too much, overreacting, etc. He hadn’t really thought it was a problem until Time pointed out that most of the chain probably felt smothered by it because they just weren’t used to it. Though that information was deeply upsetting, it was also a good point. So he had been trying to dial it down and not freak out every time someone was in pain. Truth be told, he had been fighting his very being to just leave Wind alone and not cater to his every need. 

That being said, he did glance back every once and a while and— oh, yeah something was definitely wrong this time. Sky stopped walking as he watched Four, who was somehow paler than Wind was, drop Wind to the ground gracelessly. Wind staggered behind him for a moment while Four turned around and froze in place. 

Wind looks bad… he’s hunched over and—wait is he gonna be sick? Then that means Four— 

Sky’s brow furrowed and he took up a brisk walk towards them, the conflict sending a buzz of energy through his fingers. Wind looked ready to topple over, eyes dim and unfocused. His body was curled in anticipation. Sky brushed past Four on his way over to Wind. The smith just flinched as he passed, but Sky could hear the tense, short breaths that were coming from his mouth. Sky bit his lip as he went to Wind’s side. For a moment, Sky buffered, unsure of who to go to first. Wind was going to need someone, and quite honestly Sky knew he was the top pick for the job. But at the same time he knew that Four wasn’t going to be easy to calm down if he witnessed Wind being sick. 

Besides, maybe it’s a spell and it’ll pass. Then Wind will be okay. And Four will be okay.  

Wind gagged into his hand so hard that his entire body was thrown into the motion. Okay, maybe not. Sky mentally cursed. 

“Hey guys! Wait up, Wind needs a minute!” He called back. The chain stopped and looked back. Soon several of them were heading towards them. Sky turned back to the problem at hand gave Four an apprehensive glance, trying to nonverbally apologize. Four looked at Sky briefly, shoulders almost up to his ears and hands fluttering up towards his head every time Wind made a noise. He had this unmistakeable look in his eyes that he needed to leave. Sky bit his lip, and then turned to Wind. Maybe if the others were enough distraction, Four could slip away. 

“Hey, Kiddo. It's alright, you're okay. Breathe in, breathe out."  Sky coaxed gently, rubbing his hand up and down Wind’s back. By now, Legend and Twilight had also gathered around Wind, each fluttering and unsure of how to help. Sky tried to keep his attention on Wind, but he honestly couldn’t stop listening to Four’s hyperventilating. He tensed up, his heart tearing apart at the seams trying to go two wildly different ways. 

Instead of speaking, Wind responded to Sky’s question by lurching forwards and coughing up a pathetic stream of vomit. Sky shifted to block Four’s view better and glanced back. Four had still not made a run for it. Sky’s own hands started shaking as he wracked his brain for a solution. He whispered encouragements to Wind halfheartedly, trying not to think of the outcome of his choice. But he had to make a choice. Either stay with Wind and be a source of comfort that the others wouldn’t be able to muster, or prevent Four from having a full blown panic attack in front of everybody. Sky prayed for a few more seconds as he weighed his options, but then Wind started heaving. 

Acting on pure instinct, Sky wrenched Wind’s mostly full water skein from his belt and shoved it towards Four. 

“Go refill his water, please.” He asked. It was a weak excuse, not only because the skein was full, but also because they had no idea if there was even a water source within range. 

Four glanced between Sky and the skein, and then snatched it, practically running off without another word. Sky watched him cover his ears with his hands as he disappeared. That was good. Part of the issue. He whipped his head back to Legend and Twilight hovering. Sure, they were rough around the edges, but Sky knew that Legend could be soft if he needed to. 

Legend scrunched up his face in confusion as he watched Four disappear. 

“But there’s no—“ 

“Legend!” Sky blurted. “Um, why don’t you take over, I’m gonna… I’m gonna make sure he doesn’t get lost! Yeah, we’ll be right back.” He stammered. Legend’s suspicion very quickly turned to outrage. 

“What? Why me!? I’m—“ 

“You’ve got this, I’ll be back!”

Chapter Text

       Sky huffed and puffed and watched as the forest of Lorule was smeared into a blur of purple and grays. Fi chimed on his back, worriedly throwing out dowsing signals every which way. Sky hadn’t even known Four could run this fast. He was nowhere to be seen. 

         Sky hadn’t actually been privy to this particular quirk of Four’s for a long time. It had been back when they were first traveling to Skyloft, not even two months ago. But he did know that if there was one thing that Four was afraid of, it was vomit. Vomiting himself, watching others, even just the notion or thought. 

         Sky had to admit, it was a little odd the extent of this phobia. Nobody liked throwing up, and Sky honestly probably wouldn’t have believed it was this bad if he had just been verbally told. But after witnessing it, after noticing the small signs and habits, Sky acknowledged that it was more than just a strange aversion. But the point was not the fear itself. If one of his brothers was struggling, he would help. Especially since he was the only one who could help, being the only one who knew about it. 

          “Four??? SMITH!” Sky called, taking a moment to put his hands on his knees and wheeze. The air in Lorule was even worse than the regular surface. 

          Fi twittered madly, directing Sky’s attention towards a little clearing. A meandering creek ran through it, trickling across rocks and pebbles. Four paced within it, hands tucked under his armpits and uneasy eyes trained solely on the ground. He took in shaky breaths, none of them quite succeeding. 

“Four! There you are…” Sky exclaimed breathlessly. He put his hands on his knees to catch his breath for a moment. Four barely acknowledged his presence, only glanced towards Sky and started pacing again. Sky wheezed, trying to gather his words. 

“Four… are you okay? I mean stupid question but—“ 

“I’m fine!” Four blurted, curling in tighter on himself and pausing his walking. Frustration played on his movements like a dancing fire. He had his back turned to Sky, refusing to look him in the eyes. 

“I’m fine, because this is stupid, and, and it needs to stop, because there’s no reason, and…” he faltered, dissolving once again into tearful hyperventilating. “And I was so close, Sky—hic—I was almost okay, I could almost stay.” 

  Sky straightened up and went to where Four was standing, keeping his expression neutral. 

“But you did. I’m honestly impressed you did stay that long—“ Four whipped around to face him, lapis fury in his gaze as tears streamed down his face. 

“But that’s not the point, Sky!” He argued. “I stayed, but I know I should have left, because now I don’t— I’m not going to— I won’t— I won’t stop thinking about it!” He had his hands in his hair now, clawing at it like a stubborn carrot in the ground. 

“And it’s going to cause more harm than good! I can’t do this again, I can’t—“ 

Sky watched helplessly as Four continued stammering nonsense. To be honest, he was sure that the disconnected half-sentences meant something, but it wasn’t something Sky was privy to. Whatever it was, it needed to stop. Because the longer Sky watched the shakier and more unsteady Four got, and the more he started to look fuzzy around the edges. 

“Four, hey, you’ve got to try and breathe a little. We’ll talk it out, but I can’t understand you right now.” He tried. It reached deaf ears, both figuratively and literally, as Four had once again clamped his hands over his ears. His words were starting to sound more like sobs now. 

Sky faltered, a frown pulling at his lips as an uncomfortable ache settled in his chest. He’d helped his brothers through things like this multiple times, and it always felt like the words just… came. He didn’t know if it was because he was still half worried about Wind or if he had just lost his touch, but nothing was coming. No comforting words or phrases that he had said time and time again. It was all moot this time. All he could do was watch helplessly, and he hated it. All it did was remind him of showing up to the Temple of Time only to be told that he was late, late and now you’re going to reap the consequences you INADEQUATE LITTLE BOY— 

Sky shook his head, trying to steady his own breathing. He could not allow himself to spiral now, not when Four needed help. Later. He would address it later. (Despite the fact that he had been telling himself “later” for years now) He combed the area for ideas, anything that could spark a solution. Four had stopped pacing at that point, he was just pulling at his hair and barely breathing. Monochromatic shadows of his shaking body blipped in and out of existence. Sky had to take a deep breath for himself, and then locked his gaze onto the creek, and a small sliver of hope blossomed in his chest. He’d never tried it himself, but… it worked for Groose. 

Sky braced himself, and then stood in front of Four, but it didn’t snap him out of his thoughts.

“Come on, over here.” Sky coerced, taking Four’s shoulders firmly in his hands. He led them towards the creek, slowly as Four stumbled along. His smallest brother’s wheezing breaths echoed through the canopy, his body shaking as Sky guided him to his knees. Sky took Four’s hand’s from his hair (with not a little effort) and plunged them straight into the creek. He let the cool water run over their knuckles, trickling between their fingers. 

Much to Sky’s relief, Four seemed to instantly melt into the sensation, his shoulders dropping slightly. 

“There, that’s good. Just hold it there for a minute.” Sky soothed. He gently let go of Four’s hands and brought his own out of the water, drying them off on his pants. Four shook in silence for a moment, his body slowly dissolving into Sky. Sky took the gesture and wrapped his arm around Four, pulling him closer. 

“Take some deep breaths, with me, like we did last time.” He instructed. With his other hand on Four’s knee, he started a steady tapping rhythm, just in line with his own heartbeat. Inhale for four beats, hold for four, exhale for four beats. It was the only one of Sun’s breathing exercises that seemed to work on him. He could only hope the same was true for Four. 

It took a moment for Four to catch on, but once he did, his shaking started to even out. After a few more minutes, the color was back to his cheeks and clarity back to his eyes. Sky resumed normal breathing pattern, and Four fizzled out of it. Sky wished he could say that he could hear the birds chirping again or frogs croak, but the death-scape of Lorule for once was rather unfitting for a moment such as this. 

“I was so close.” Four muttered, letting his head fall onto Sky’s shoulder (or rather, bicep due to the height difference). Sky sighed. 

“Yeah, I know.” He replied. 

“I’m sorry, Sky. I-I know this is ridiculous.” Four sniffed, rubbing his fingers together under the water. Sky shook his head, letting his gaze drift around the clearing. 

“No, it’s not. We all have irrational fears. I mean Wind’s got that thing with birds, Hyrule and his… honeycomb thing.” 

“Wind’s makes sense. His sister was kidnapped by a huge bird and then he had to fight it. And Hyrule doesn’t have panic attacks when he sees a honeycomb.” Four pointed out, his voice hoarse from tears. 

“That’s true. But…” Sky faltered, biting his lip. His cheeks burned, realizing what exactly he had almost just admitted. But now Four had perked up, puffy, red-rimmed eyes curious. 

“What? But what?” 

Shoot. Now I’m not gonna get out of this, am I? And it would sure take his mind off of this.. 

Sky exhaled, and then turned to Four. 

“Okay, before I tell you this you have to promise you won’t tell anyone else.” 

Four nodded emphatically.  

“I… I really hate ball—b—balloons. And hot air balloons. Large spheres. When I was um… when I was a kid some other kid had balloons at a party and—“ Sky swallowed uncomfortably. He realized he hadn’t actually told this to anyone before.  “it took hours for the adults to calm me down.” 

Four blinked. Sky felt the blood rush to his ears. They looked at each other for a moment, each unsure of what to do with the information out in the open. 

      “… That’s kinda weird, man.” Four admitted. Sky burst into nervous laughter. He had known Four to be blunt, but he hadn’t expected that. 

       “Yeah,” Sky chuckled “but you’ve gotta admit it makes a fear of vomiting sound pretty reasonable.” He pointed out, despite the nervous twist of his stomach. It was always uncomfortable when someone found out, but Four didn’t seem to mind or think any less of him. 

        Four deflated a little, laughing lightly. 

        “I guess it does.” 

There was a pause before either of them spoke again. They just sat there at the edge of the water, Four letting the stream rush over and under his hands. 

“I always… I always hated this part of me. I mean I’m a hero of courage, I’m meant to… just push past things like this. But somehow… this is the only fear that I can’t just push to the side.” He said eventually. His voice shook,  hoarse with tears and full of more to come. Sky let a breath huff from his chest, mulling over his response. 

“Yeah. I’ve been there before. I’m the chosen hero, so why was I cursed with these lungs? It scared me to know I may not be fit for my task. For a while, I wondered if the goddess had the wrong guy. But… Four, someday, someone out there is going to see you and feel just a little bit less alone. A little less broken, a little less like they need to hide. Not because you have overcome your fear, but because you maybe never will. And that’s alright, so long as you don’t hurt anyone in the process.” 

  “…do you think I hurt Wind?” Four asked quietly. 

Sky bit his lip, deliberating an answer. He didn’t want to say this, but he knew that Four knew the answer, so it would be useless to convince him otherwise. 

“Maybe.” He admitted, “but if anyone is going to forgive you, it’s him.” 

Four said nothing, did nothing for a few seconds, and then gave a little nod before setting his head on Sky’s arm, all his words locked behind his teeth. 

        Sky smiled, a warmth bubbling up in his chest. He realized, with no small amount of annoyance that he hadn’t realized earlier, that this was why he cared so much. That fuzzy feeling he always got after he helped someone. It was worth more than any gratitude crystal. 

        Leaning forwards, he wrapped Four in the biggest bear hug he could muster. Surprised by the sudden movement, Four initially tensed up, but soon melted into the action. As comforting as it was, something dark and slimy in his stomach told Sky that they were going to need a lot more than warm hugs in the next few days. 

        He shook his head out and straightened back out. 

       “Ready to go back? The others are probably waiting.” 

       “I guess… um… just please don’t mention… this?” Four pleaded. Sky tilted his head playfully. 

       “As long as you keep quiet about the balloon thing? My lips are sealed.” He promised. Four gave him a little smile, and then nodded. 

        “Deal.”

Chapter Text

        Legend cringed as another grating round of coughs rang through the air. It had been going on for the better part of an hour now, the coughing. Legend sighed, and watched as Wind stumbled up the steps to the abandoned house in Lorule. Sky shot a hand out to guide Wind up the stairs. Despite the clear mother henning, Wind didn’t even flinch or tell Sky off. 

         Wind had insisted that he was well enough to walk the rest of the way. Legend did have to admit that Wind had perked up significantly after his little bout of nausea. They had given him some of the nutrient water that they kept for Hyrule, and that was probably the reason for his sudden uptick in energy. Legend hadn’t liked the idea, since the water was so valuable to Hyrule and by proxy the entire team, but at the same time he knew that Wind needed something, and they couldn’t afford to give him food that he would just puke up later anyways. 

         He had done well so far, albeit quietly. But by the time they had reached the little shack, he was dragging his feet and looked too miserable to approach. As Legend climbed the last stair, he did a brief headcount, landing finally, on Four. His stomach went sour at the reminder, and he let his face contort into a scowl before he looked away. 

        He knew Four was hiding something, and he knew that Sky was helping him do it. And he was going to find out, because it was clearly occupying him more than the situation at hand. 

        But that was neither here nor there, and they had to get settled first at the very least. 

         “You’re scowli’g again.” Wind grumbled in his nasally tenor beside Legend. Legend rolled his eyes. 

     “Oh, well forgive me if I don’t look as if I’ve just stumbled unexpectedly across a fairy fountain, it’s been kind of a long day.” He almost growled. He knew he should be gentler with Wind, knew how important it was that the boy know he could come to Legend with anything, but in that moment he really didn’t have the energy to stitch together half-harmonic words of comfort. 

     “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that.” Wind sighed, rubbing his eye. Legend pointed to a rock and then sat down on another, Wind following suit shortly after. 

     “And why are you sorry?” 

     “I’ve just been kinda a pain in the-“ Legend cut Wind off before he could say anything more, too done to care that he was interrupting. 

     “It’s not your fault you’re sick, that’s a natural function. Sure, you coulda said something this morning about feeling bad, but you didn’t. That was stupid, but you’re ok. That’s all that matters right now, so quit whining.”

      Legend cringed at his own words. Somehow, always, he managed to say the same things but a thousand times sharper. And no matter how hard he tried it was never any different. 

      He stood up, refusing to see the hurt he knew was on Wind’s face, and went to pry the door open. A shrill whistle interrupted his efforts, and the entire chain went silent and looked towards Time.

  “Alright. Wild is cooking out here. Since we need to keep everything as quarantined as we can, everyone who has been in close contact with Wind will stay in the house. That includes Legend, Four, Twi, and Sky.” 

     Legend narrowed his eyes. “Wait, why Sky?” He questioned. Four had been sticking unusually close to Sky ever since they had went to “get water”. 

     “Damage control.” Time answered curtly. 

     That’s fair. Legend conceded. Still, it didn’t sit right with him. 

    “Vet, how far tomorrow?” 

    “Probably six or seven hours, give or take.” Legend answered. The old man hummed and paused to think a moment. 

     “We‘ll leave at around eight tomorrow, no later. Who’s got first watch?” 

     Wild twisted his neck to the side with a loud crack! Time looked towards Wild, mildly disgusted. 

     “Thank you, Wild, for volunteering.” 

     Wild scowled in silent protest. 

     “I’ve got second.” Sky put in. Warriors quietly raised his hand. 

     “I’ll take third shift.” 

      Time clapped his hands together. “That settles it. Get set up, everyone. Make sure to check yourself for injuries from that attack earlier.” 

     Legend reluctantly rose from his rock and stretched, wincing at the protest from his sore joints. 

     “Come on, sailor.” He waved his hand and opened the door to the vacant house. The purple wood creaked with an ear-piercing scrape, and half the chain startled and covered their ears. Legend smirked. 

     “Just like I remember it.” 

     “Jabun’s fins, does anyone have any oil?” Wind whined, kneading his fingers against his forehead. There was a long silence, and Wind stuck his tongue out at the door and blew a raspberry before going in. 

     Legend scanned the one room of the house with dismay, realizing just how cluttered it was. It hadn’t mattered during his adventure, he would find nooks and crannies to curl up and wait out the night, but housing five heroes was a different story. 

     “We… might have to clear some space.” Legend realized out loud as Sky, Twilight, and Four all filed into the room. Twilight blinked and looked around. 

     “This is worse than Colin’s room.” He muttered. Legend shrugged and went over to push aside a large crate. 

     “I think moving a few of the big things should do the trick. What, are you just gonna watch me?” He snapped. Sky instantly appeared in front of a pile of books and started shoving, Four clearing those that fell around Sky’s feet. Twilight started stacking some rolled up carpets, and it wasn’t until Legend heard a couple weak coughs that he realized Wind was attempting to move a box. Legend was just about to open his mouth when Twilight scooped Wind up by the armpits. The sailor struggled weakly against Twilight’s grip. 

     “Let- go o’ me!” 

     “Oh no, you aren’t moving any boxes today.” Twilight stated firmly, ignoring the hands clawing at his arms. He plopped Wind down against a wall and unclipped his pelt from around his neck. 

     “Stay.” He said, holding back a smile. He draped the pelt over a scowling Wind and then patted his head. Wind grumbled something incomprehensible and leaned into the wall.

     After a few more minutes of shifting junk around, there was a large enough space for all five of them to sleep comfortably. Legend dusted off his hands and straightened.  

     “That should do it.” Sky said, puffing out breaths. Four nodded quietly and went to unpack his things. Legend bit his lip, contemplating his course of action. He may not be the burliest or the fastest, but there was a reason he had been successful on so many adventures. And that was because he did not take no for an answer. He rolled his plan around in his head as he set up his and Wind’s bedrolls. His stomach turned in knots, blood broiling. He could not even fathom leaving Wind on his own like that, running away when he most needed someone. Especially after being the one to piggyback him for the hours prior. It just didn’t make sense. And that fact alone was enough to put Legend in a sour mood. 

         As much as he wanted to drag Four away right then and there, there was something he needed to do first. He plodded over to the far wall, where Twilight and Sky were crouched with Wind. 

         “Come on, you’ll hate yer’self if ya fall asleep like that.” Twilight reasoned. Wind curled up tighter, eyelids drooping closed. He was still leaned up against the wall, now in the fetal position. The little sliver of his eyes still visible were glazed over beyond recognition, his cheeks blazing even in the dim light of the shack. Sky sighed and sat next to Wind with his back against the wall. He gave his lap a good pat. 

         “Just lay down, I’ll let you use me as a pillow.” Sky goaded. Wind’s ears swiveled towards him, and then he slowly crawled over to Sky and flopped over, still curled up. Sky frowned, running his fingers through Wind’s sandy hair. Other than feebly swatting a hand, Wind made no objection. Sky just kept the motion going as the Sailor slowly drifted off. 

        “Well he crashed hard.” Legend commented. Sky huffed, his expression betraying nothing but worry. 

       “His fever is spiking again. Seems walking didn’t do him any favors.” 

       “Yeah, of course it didn’t. I’ll grab some water from the moat.” Legend muttered. He glanced around for a bucket and spotted one from across the room, sitting on a pile of books and filled with chips of bark. Four was pulling books from the pile, examining them each in turn. 

        “Can you even read any of those?” Legend asked dryly. Four startled and dropped the rather heavy encyclopedia he was holding. Legend wrinkled up his nose. What was wrong with him? 

        “I uh— well no, but I figured it would be fun to try.” Four explained, clearing his throat. Legend rolled his eyes. 

         “Sure. Come on, we’re going to the moat to get water.” 

 =======

         Four was well-read. He knew more about random subjects than he cared to admit. He could name great philosophers and scientists alike. But he wasn’t terribly good at parsing out others’ emotions. Sure, he could make assumptions, but he was never as good at it as Sky was. He still wasn’t sure why that was, possibly because of how much he overthought everything, possibly just because he never studied it. But this time, this time Four knew that Legend was pissed. 

        And not in his normal prickly way, either. He was mad. And he was mad at Four. He’d known it ever since he and Sky had returned to the rest of the chain. Legend had kept looking at him with narrowed eyes, avoiding speaking to him. He knew it was because he had bailed on Wind. He knew that it was because he was finally revealing himself as a coward. And this was why he hadn’t told anyone except Sky. Because people got mad. 

        So that’s how Four got there, fighting back tears as they came in waves because Red just would not stop wailing. He was waiting at the top of the moat for Legend to come back with water. His chest hurt, what was he going to say? How was he going to explain this? 

         The claws of Legend’s longshot slammed into the earth at Four’s feet, and the vet came hurtling after it. Four helped him back up, being careful not to spill the bucket of water. Legend dusted himself off and stashed away his longshot. The walk there had been silent. Four could only hope the same would be said for the walk back. He knew his mind was frazzled, frayed at the edges. He was still jumpy, sometimes he caught himself spiraling into his own thoughts. He couldn’t take Legend questioning him. 

        They plodded through the grayed grass, the blades dissolving beneath their feet. Lavender maple leaves drifted to the ground along the path they followed, so tranquil that Four almost felt bad for interrupting it with his tense posture. But if he relaxed he could feel his insides twirling and that was markedly worse. Legend kicked a Snap Dragon to the side and cleared his throat. A jolt of lightning snapped through Four, forcing his spine erect and ears perked. 

         “So…” Legend began. 

         Here it comes…

         Hylia give us eloquence 

         What’s an Ella-quince? 

         ….and some better vocabulary.

        “What’s going on with you? I mean really. It’s been going on since this morning, and I know it has so just come clean.” 

         Four swallowed. 

        “I’m just… I’ve been worried about Wind. And not to mention just the fact that we’re in such a tough spot.” He answered. It was rehearsed, practiced in his mind over and over again. 

        “We’ve been in worse situations before, you’ve never acted like this. Don’t try to lie to me, Four.” Legend snapped back. Four chewed the inside of his cheek. Thoughts swirled around in his skull, overlapping and winding with each other until they all muddied into a sludge. No answer came, no clever comebacks or excuse. 

         “I don’t want to talk about it.” He whispered instead. His eyes stung realizing just how pathetic he sounded. There was Red again. He kept his expression carefully even, whether he wanted to or not. Sometimes, his ability to put on a facade was more of a curse than a blessing. Maybe if Legend had realized how much was going on inside Four’s head, he would ease off. Instead, the Veteran just seemed more enraged. 

        “Yeah, well you’re gonna have to. If it’s keeping you from functioning, it needs to be taken care of.” He argued. Four bristled. Did he not get it? Could he not catch a hint? 

        “It’s not that simple. And I can still function.” He said, firmer this time. Legend barely even skipped a beat with his reply. 

        “Don’t kid yourself. I saw you running away with your tail in between your legs.”

        Amazing how he’s perceptive enough to notice that but not enough to put the pieces together. 

         “You wouldn’t get it!” Blue bit out. Four shook his head and grabbed at his sleeve compulsively. It had been a while since he let Blue do something like that. Legend reared back in offense. 

         “You’re talking to the guy that’s been on five adventures at least! I assure you, there’s not anything you could say that would surprise me,”

         “No, you—“ Four inhaled, trying to reel back the sapphire flames blazing in his chest. “You wouldn’t get it, and you wouldn’t even try to understand. I’ve played these games before.” 

         He hated the words even as they came out of his mouth, even as the syllables slipped off his tongue. Both because he knew it was the wrong thing to say in this situation, and because he knew they were true. 

          Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Legend gawk. It made sense. Who was Four to suggest that Legend would judge first and help later? Who was Four to keep his problem a secret out of fear? 

         He’d always heard that money made the world go ‘round, but maybe it was fear. 

         He braced himself for impact. 

         He is gonna let us have it. 

         Nice knowin’ you fellas. 

         Wait I think I know why he’s acting like this. He’s stressed about Wind and food and he’s taking it out on us!! 

          …Oh that would make sense. 

          Oh no poor Legend!! 

          Poor Legend? He’s the one chewing us out! 

          Right… 

          “I can’t- what does that even mean?? You can’t just keep whatever this is bottled up that’s just common sense! And—“ 

          “Oh good, you guys are back!” 

          Four flicked his gaze up from the ground to where Sky was clambering down the hill to the shack. Four could have melted with relief right then and there. The pressure behind his eyes that had been sitting there for hours mounted to a peak, and he let a shudder pass through him. Legend shut his mouth quickly when Sky interrupted. He fumed, his cheeks flustered and eyes blazing. Sky smiled merrily, waving them up. 

“Thanks for getting this. Um, Four, why don’t you come with me, and Legend, Wild wants to talk to you about something.” Sky breathed, taking the water from Legend. Legend gave the barest, nod, hardly even taking his eyes off of Four. This wasn’t over, they both knew that. 

As Four turned his back to Legend, guided by Sky, he tried to keep back the tears Red was forcing through. He stumbled at some point on the way back to the house. Sky was saying something. He was too numb to hear it. Everything was numb, except only the knowledge that there was the very real possibility that he was not going to be able to keep his secret for much longer. 

But he had to try. 

==========

        “Wind, you have to eat. How are you supposed to recover if you don’t?” Warriors begged. He’d been arguing for several minutes now. Wind just remained laying down, barely coherent. 

         “Told you, I’ll just waste it.” He rasped. His voice grated on the air like gravel. Warriors bristled. The plate of rice in his hands was growing cold and stale with every second. He did not have time for this, nor did they have the resources for it. 

          “It’s just plain rice, Wind. if there’s anything you’re going to keep down, it’s this, so just please try?” The pleading words sounded wrong coming from his mouth, lilting in the air trying to coax Wind into eating. All he got in response was Wind pulling Twilight’s pelt over his head. 

         A sigh escaped Warriors’ lips as he hauled himself to his feet. He’d learned a long time ago that not every losing battle was worth fighting. And this was one of them. 

         “Does anyone want this? Wind didn’t touch it.” He asked around the room. Twilight began to raise his hand, but Sky smacked it back down with impressive speed. 

          “Give it to Hyrule,” Sky suggested while Twilight nursed the back of his hand. Legend had his mouth full, but he nodded and gave a thumbs up supporting the idea. Warriors looked to Four to make sure he didn’t want any, only to find that the smithy was already curled up in his bedroll and fast asleep, a drained cup of tea sitting next to him. It had really been a long day if Four was the first to fall asleep. 

         Warriors nodded and gave a hearty yawn as he went back outside where the others were camping. 

  Those sitting around the fire were quiet, watching the flames lick at the wood. Wild sat next to Hyrule so close it was to a protective degree. Looking closer, Warriors could see why. Dark splashes of watercolor grays sat under his eyes, his complexion was of porcelain, his frown a crack along the surface. There was a finished plate of food next to him, but he still hadn’t perked up. There was something eerily familiar about the way he was blankly staring at the fire, like all his thoughts were running in slow motion. 

       “Rulie, do you want this rice? I couldn’t get Wind to eat any of it.” Warriors offered, unable to mask the small bit of frustration in his voice. He thrust the bowl towards the Traveler. Admittedly, it wasn’t much, but it was something, and it was food they couldn’t afford to waste. If only he could get that message through Wind’s head. 

Hyrule turned his gaze towards Warriors slowly, as if his brain was still processing the question. He flicked his eyes up to meet the captain, round but unseeing, almost gray compared to the usual brilliant emerald of his irises. They focused on Warriors only barely, slipping in and out of focus. He opened his mouth but no sound came out, the words on the tip of his tongue. Warriors watched, and to his dismay the silence continued. And there was something hauntingly familiar about that look. It almost reminded him of… of… 

=======

“Hm?” Wind hummed, not even looking away from the fire. His eyelids were peeled open but unseeing, dim and exhausted. Warriors could only just barely see the blue of his irises as they were swathed in the golden light of the flames. Warriors’ heart twisted, like someone was physically wrenching it from its arteries. Wind, usually so full of energy, was barely even present anymore. Warriors had thought it was just a little dip caused by their food shortage a month ago, but it was just getting more concerning. 

“I asked if you wanted to go on night patrol with Twilight and I. But you seem tired, so maybe you should—“ 

Wind snapped up at that, spine erect. His brow furrowed and his face cracked into a nervous smile. 

“What? No, no, I can come! Sorry I was just zoning out there.” He defended. For that moment, he seemed his old self again. Happy, excited, brimming with energy. It put Warriors at ease for a short time, loosened the vice grip on his chest. 

“That’s my sailor.” He breathed, smiling “Now come on, Twilight’s waiting.” 

…..

“Wind, wanna play cards? Sky’s playing.” Warriors called from across the camp. Wind dropped the logs he had gathered in front of Wild with a huff. 

“Yeah, sure.” He mumbled. He took a swig of his flask and settled down next to Sky. Warriors patted his back awkwardly, only to receive a smoldering glare. Wind had been fine all day, even into the afternoon. He’d had energy and spunk, and had even entertained them while they were hunkered down during a storm. But as soon as they settled for the night and Wild started cooking, his mood entirely shifted. It was all Warriors could do not to call it out. 

But, he reminded himself, It’s been a long day. He might just be tired and there’s nothing to worry about.  

So as Sky started dealing out cards, Warriors chose to put the worried thoughts far from his mind. After all, Wind always cheered up after a card game. …Right? 

=======

“Thanks, Wars.” Hyrule said quietly before taking the rice. Warriors blinked against the visceral memories, trying to erase Wind’s face from Hyrule’s. It had been the same look. That same far off gaze and unfocused eyes… the same as Wind had been so many times in the past few months. 

“Yeah, no problem…” he murmured, barely paying mind to the odd look Wild gave him. He turned from them and went to… to do something. He had to occupy himself somehow. The snake winding around his chest was getting tighter, squeezing the air out of him. All the memories, all the times he’d told himself it was nothing to worry about, they flooded his mind like a thousand “I told you so”s. He had been wrong, so very wrong, 

        Something was very wrong with Wind, and he’d just let it happen. His gut turned sour with the meal he’d just eaten, and he desperately tried to keep it down. He’d brushed off Wind’s clear distress and for what? Momentary peace of mind? 

        Now it was so much worse,

Chapter Text

          Nobody noticed when Four woke up early and slipped away for a walk. No one noticed when he got back. And nobody seemed to realize that he’d shoved the entirety of his meager breakfast onto Wild’s plate. And he would like to keep it that way. 

         It was just a precaution. More than anything, it was something to keep the panic at bay. Sleeping had helped, the rest sharpening his mind and his awareness. It built up his walls again, allowing him to once again don his almost uninterested resting expression and keep it there. But despite this, he’d still woken up in a cold sweat, instinctually analyzing every physical sensation for signs of illness. It had taken more mental effort than was typical to wrangle the thoughts out of his mind.

         Now, as the Chain gradually plodded along the desaturated path, Four chewed his lip, tearing the top layer of skin off of it strip by strip. It was a bad habit, he knew, and even by hour one or two of their trek, he could taste iron and it hit his empty stomach uncomfortably. Nevertheless, it was something to keep him from thinking about Legend’s eyes burning hold in his tunic. But it didn’t quite stop him from glancing over at Wind constantly. 

        That morning had been… an ordeal, to say the least. And it didn’t help Four’s current state in the slightest. 

=====

         “Wind, you haven’t eaten anything in almost twenty-four hours. If you don’t eat now, there will not be another opportunity until evening. You’re dehydrated and malnourished as it is, and you’re not going to get better if you don’t, so I don’t care if you’re hungry or not, you’re going to eat.” 

         Wind shivered in the blanket he still had around his shoulders, curled up against the onslaught of Warriors’ commands. He was clutching the fabric so hard his knuckles were white, and his face was twisted into defiance that was poorly masking how embarrassed and helpless he felt. 

         “I—I can’t, I don’t—“ he stammered. Warriors bristled, shoulders rising. 

         “It’s not that you can’t, you just won’t! What’s so hard about this?”

          Twilight rose to his feet, a disturbing weight to his expression. His dark brows were lowered over his eyes, replacing them with dark shadows. 

         “Now list’n, Cap. Ya can’t just force ‘m t’ eat. He’s sicker ‘n a pig on a pirate ship, give ‘m a brea—“

          Warriors cut Twilight off before he could finished, his words terse and final. 

           “No. Wild didn’t cook our very limited food for him to— you know what? Fine. Be a stubborn little kid, that’s all you are anyways. Sorry for expecting more of you.” 

=======

          Four had been trying to shake the memory of the scene, along with the continually growing feeling that Wind was not okay, nor had been for quite a while. He had his suspicions, but… wouldn’t he have noticed by now if that was the case? 

          No matter how hard he tried the image kept playing over and over in his head. It remained stubbornly present, and if he wasn’t careful he knew it would swallow his thoughts whole. 

         He tuned in to a conversation that Time was having with Warriors and Hyrule, telling a story. Malon apparently did have a disciplinary streak, as Time was laughing and telling about when he had been forced to sleep in the barn for a week after allegedly feeding the cows too many treats. Four had laughed along, and had to admit, it was good distraction for the moment. But as soon as the conversation died that same muted panic and replaying of memories occupied his consciousness again. He kept glancing at Twilight, who had Wind draped over his back. The sailor was dead asleep now, finally falling into true unconsciousness after a night of restless, fever-fueled dreams. Four was beyond grateful that he had managed to sleep through the whole night. However, the same could not be said for Legend and Sky. Both had ended up awake most of the night caring for Wind as his temperature spiked. Legend was dragging his feet a little, but Sky was practically falling asleep on the road. So essentially, the only members of the chain that were even remotely in a good mood were those that had camped outside. 

The sun rose to a crest high above them, and they continued to trudge on. Even Sky had opted to skip a mid-day break in favor of just getting to their next destination faster. Four had a feeling that his vote was primarily due to the fact that he knew if he sat down, he would fall asleep indefinitely. 

Afternoon crept up on them as they all inched farther and farther along. By that point, most of the conversation of that morning had fizzled out. Four felt his mind getting slower and foggier, even the colors quieted down. In a strange way, it was almost a relief to simply not have the energy to be anxious. 

      For probably the millionth time, Four scanned his comrades ahead of him. Wild was trudging along beside him, combing his fingers through his hair. Sky yawned just ahead, steadily falling behind. Time, Warriors, and Twilight with Wind on his back all led up front. It was the same as it had been for hours. That is until Four settled on Legend and Hyrule. The Traveler had significantly fallen behind, almost suddenly as Legend didn’t seem to have realized until Hyrule started pawing at his shoulder. The pair stopped, and Four watched as Legend tensed up and grasped Hyrule’s arm tightly as he stumbled. Twilight turned first, creating a domino effect, and soon all eyes were on Legend and Hyrule. Four stopped a few feet away, craning his ears to hear. He bit into his lip so hard the copper tang of blood coated his tongue. 

       “-feel dizzy again? Is it that— woah!” 

       Half the chain jerked forwards out of pure instinct as Hyrule tilted forwards, but Legend managed to grab him by the tunic and lower him to the ground. Hyrule panted into Legend’s shoulder, his shadowed eyes standing in stark contrast among the ivory of his complexion. His clothes were stained with patches of dark sweat, and Four couldn’t help but think that he must have been perspiring like this for a while for it to be that saturated. He looked to Wild, but the champion was just rubbing the hem of his tunic, looking only vaguely concerned about his comrade quite literally prone on the ground. 

         “I think it’s his sugar, it’s been too long, WILD! Get your ass over here, get an apple or something from your slate.”

         Wild startled out of his skin, his eyes going wide as he kicked into action. 

        “Right, right!! Uhm…” he stalled, jogging over to Legend while he whipped out his slate. Four took a hesitant step out of the way, allowing safe passage for Wild. Legend whipped his head to him at the movement, pinning him down with a single look. 

       “And you, don’t move another muscle, milksop.” 

        Four halted, the gears turning in his head. 

       “….What’s a milksop?” Sky whispered to Twilight. The rancher just shook his head, then whispered back. 

       “Dunno, but it doesn’t sound good.” 

       Milksop? 

       It means coward, I think. It’s a term from Legend’s era—

       He called us a WHAT? 

        “Deep breaths, Rulie, just hang on.” Sky soothed, placing a hand on Hyrule’s back. 

         Wow, we really can’t travel for more than four hours without one of us going down, huh? Vio deadpanned. 

         Real optimistic.

         “I-I don’t have any apples, maybe uh…” Wild scratched his head and cleared his throat. Four didn’t miss the resistance in the sound, the way that whatever Wild had been trying to shift in his airway did not budge in the slightest. 

         “What do you mean you don’t have any apples? I thought you made sure to keep snacks for him!” Legend squawked. Wild stiffened and looked like he was about to snap back, but Legend smothered all hopes of that. 

         “Can’t we get someone who actually knows what they’re doing to ration? I mean this is ridiculous.” He continued, the words flying from his mouth like little poison darts. Wild shrank back, curling into himself. His eyes shifted to the ground. Legend opened his mouth again but Time spoke over him this time.

        “Wild.” He said, the tension leaking into his command. “Just find something quickly, we’ll talk later.” 

        Wild nodded stiffly, and tapped around for a few more seconds until a half a bottle of water and a handful of wild berries materialized in his palm. His hands almost seemed to shake under the weight of the items, but even after handing them off to Legend, he tried to smother the tremors by brushing his hands along the sides of his tunic. 

        Legend and Sky coerced Hyrule into eating the berries and sipping on the nutrient water, and Four watched closely as Wild deflated without the eyes on him. His shoulders slumped over, eyes went distant. Four’s chest twinged with suspicion as he scanned his brother for other oddities, all the worries of Legend’s comment being momentarily pushed aside. It could be that he was simply tired and stressed like the rest of them, but Four still couldn’t shake the feeling that it was not normal. 

          “Warriors, go help Wild take inventory and ration out the rest of the supplies.” Time ordered. It was barely audible above the growing clamor, but Four still caught it. Wild, however, didn’t even seem to notice Warriors until he was tapping on his shoulder. Something heavy dropped in Four’s stomach, a feeling rancid and cold, like mounting dread. Wild was not acting normal. 

         I’m going to reiterate, this could very possibly simply be the result of a bad night of sleep. 

          Or he could be getting sick! Look at the way he’s hunched over! 

          We have to help.

          How? It’s Wild! He isn’t going to admit to it even if we ask him point blank. 

         Then we just have to squeeze it out of him! 

          “Alright Champ, show me what we’ve got.” Warriors prompted, leaning an elbow on Wild’s shoulder. Wild blinked, trying to get his bearings. He stared at his slate for a moment, clearly deliberating, before giving Warriors a smile. 

         “Y’know uh… I’m no good at the rationing stuff, as we just proved… so as long as you don’t touch anything else, I’ll let you use the slate to organize stuff for meals.” He offered. The words that fell from his mouth were strained, slightly scratchy. Four’s stomach turned. 

That’s not a good sign. 

Maybe he put too much goron spice in his eggs this morning? 

The man has the spice tolerance of a pile of bricks, there’s no way that’s the case. 

Mischief glinted in Warriors’ smile as he accepted the offer and snatched the slate from Wild’s hands. Wild huffed in defeat as Warriors padded off. 

        Hyrule was already looking leagues better than he had been. The tremors had mostly stopped, and some of the color had returned to his complexion, but he was still leaning into Legend like his life depended on it. Time surveyed the two, and seemed to come to a decision. 

        “We’re taking a small break. Everyone be back on their feet in half an hour. And keep a look out.” 

         Within half a minute, everyone was settling down right where they stood. Twilight offloaded Wind from his back with Warriors’ help, taking a moment to stretch out his sore back. Wild wasted no time in plopping down. Four, seeing his chance, sat down next to Wild. 

     “Everything alright?” He asked, smiling as best he could, mostly thanks to Red. Wild looked up from the path and blinked, realizing that Four was there. 

     “Oh, Um… it’s alright. I guess.” Wild responded. He wasn’t even tracing shapes in the dirt or occupying his hands with his hair. Now that Four was getting a better look at him, Wild was missing his usual healthy flush. 

     “Hm. Try again.” Four offered. Wild rubbed the back of his neck. 

     “I guess… well I—I should have been paying better attention. I hadn’t realized we ran out of apples. It’s my fault we’re in this mess now.” 

     Four nodded slightly. 

     You think we should be more specific? 

     Yeah probably. 

     “That’s… understandable. But y’know we would’ve been in this mess anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal.” Four pointed out. Wild just looked back at the ground and sighed. 

     “Legend is tired, and stressed. Don’t give him the time of day.” 

     “Yeah, I know.” Wild’s voice was practically a whisper, then his throat caught and he was stifling a fit of coughing the best he could. Four swallowed hard, doing his best not to flinch away. 

     “That’s not… all that’s wrong, is it though?” Four prompted. Wild rubbed his temple, ears burning with embarrasment. 

     “My head hurts, I guess. I’m just tired, yesterday took a lot out of me.” He admitted. Four narrowed his eyes. 

     Oh no, he is not getting away with this. 

     “Let me just check for a temperature,” Four demanded, reaching over to place his hand on Wild’s forehead. Wild flinched away. 

     “What? No, I told you I’m fine! Besides, I haven’t had any contact with Wind.” 

     Four said nothing, only kept looking at Wild with scrutinizing attention to detail. He was about to list every single thing he had noticed in the past thirty minutes when Wild scowled and crossed his arms. 

     “I’m fine, Smithy, seriou-MOBLIN!” 

Four barely had time to roll out of the way as a massive spiked club slammed into the ground.

Chapter Text

     It was the cherry on top, the monster attack. It was relatively uneventful, an no injuries were sustained, but it did prove to rapidly deplete their already dwindling energy stores. Wind was thankful that the commotion had roused him from his fever-induced comatose state enough to find a place out of the way to cough up a lung. 

     Really, the cherry on top of this cake of misfortune was rather inconsequential. The cake layers were the food shortage, which had Legend on edge and Warriors harping on everyone for eating their share and no more and no less. The icing (A buttercream made with spoiled milk) was Wind’s illness, which aside from making him miserable physically, was wringing him out of any sort of determination to put on a brave front. Oh, and whomever had actually made the cake apparently did not know how to crack an egg, because the sponge was laced with eggshells. The eggshells were the little reminders that all of the stress, the dysfunction, it was his fault. He had failed. Again. 

     Wind bit down on his lip to stop the childish tears in his eyes from falling. His face burned, both with shame and with fever. Quiet, barely contained coughs wracked his body where it was laid across Sky’s lap. He couldn’t remember how he’d ended up like this, but he wasn’t going to move. His limbs ached too much to justify it, no matter how his pride reeled back. Through his fuzzy, fogged vision, he watched the Chain set up for dinner. His stomach tightened at the prospect of food, unsure if he was going to be able to get anything down, much less keep it there. He knew he needed food. He welcomed the dizziness, the brain fog like an old friend. But it was somehow a thousand times harder to open his mouth and take a bite with Warriors breathing down his neck. 

     Across the fire pit, Four sat staring despondently at the flames. His eyes flashed blue, red… violet? Wind blinked, convinced it was just a combination of his feverish state and the fire-light playing tricks on him. Four wrung his hands together, mashing his knuckles against one another. Legend brushed past him, bumped his shoulder without a single word. Four froze for a moment, like a startled bird. But he didn’t say anything, only focused his gaze on the ground instead and started fidgeting again. 

     Much to Wind’s chagrin, Legend stalked straight over to Sky, standing just so that Wind could see nothing but his pegasus boots. 

     “I wanna talk. Gotta question.” Legend said, his tone closer to a growl than normal. Wind felt Sky shift uncomfortably. 

     “I’m uh… kind of tied up right now,” he explained, laughing lightly. Wind clung tighter to Sky. No, don’t get up. Stay here and continue being my pillow. 

     Legend sighed and tapped his foot in agitation. The action sent up a plume of powdery dust that tickled Wind’s sinuses and forced several snotty convulsions out of him. Legend paused to let Wind finish, and then muttered a tired “bless” under his breath. Wind sucked in a truly sickening amount of snot to avoid soiling Sky’s chainmail. He glanced upwards only to see Legend gesturing wildly, clearly using some kind of sign language. The angle that Wind could see granted him no information, only catching Legend finger spell Four’s name and something about… running. 

      Sky responded with sign of his own, and Wind felt him tense up. This back and forth went on for a few minutes more before Legend gave a huff and a final indignant foot stomp. 

     “You’re not benefitting anyone by doing this.” He grumbled, and promptly stalked off, steam practically rolling off of him. Wind felt trembling hands carding through his hair, matted with sweat. Wind could have purred at the sensation prickling against his scalp. Sky’s sigh was long, drawn from the depths of his diaphragm. 

     “Sorry, Wind. The stress is just getting to us all, not your fault.” Sky soothed. Wind was tempted to believe him. It would be so easy to believe him. But the words weren’t true. Because it was his fault. 

     “What was that all about?” He asked. It sounded like gravel was grinding in his throat, and talking shot daggers through it. But other than a wince, he refused to show it. 

     “Oh um…” Sky faltered, pausing his scratching. “It’s nothing important.” 

     Wind felt a small spark of annoyance flare up in him, but all of his energy to argue was spent. He doubted it was “nothing important”, because if it wasn’t, then why had they been using sign instead of speaking? If it was no big deal, why wouldn’t Sky tell Wind? Or was that just because Wind wouldn’t be able to do anything anyways. Not now, sick, and not ever. 

     He curled up a little more, allowing the dark sludge in his brain to consume him whole. He let the sounds of Wild’s cooking wash over him, and he idly watched. There was nothing else to focus on other than his own thoughts, and that was a dangerous place to be. 

     A wobbly knife came down on a mushroom, cutting it into a thick slice. The next slice was painfully thin, and Wind found himself raising an eyebrow. For a cook usually so precise with chopping, Wild was sure making a lot of uneven cuts. Wind looked Wild over, taking note of the pallor making his scars stick out more than usual, the way his bright eyes reflected the fire, the almost robotic movements he was making. And he smothered coughs into his elbow every other minute. 

     Despite the minimal signs, Wind knew deep down what all of it meant. And if the way that Sky was shifting and watching Wild like a hawk was any indicator, he wasn’t the only one who had noticed. 

     It was bound to happen. He reasoned. It’s beyond difficult to keep stuff like this contained. 

     And yet… what if he had told everyone sooner? What if he had distanced himself a little more? What if he wasn’t such an inherently selfish little kid that he just wanted to be with someone all the time? Maybe then they wouldn’t be in this situation. 

     Wind was just about to flip around and bury his face into Sky’s tunic when he saw Wild stand up over the cook pot… and give a dangerous wobble. On instinct, Wind shot up from his position, but the world swam before his own eyes. By the time the fire stopped blinking in and out of existence, Wild was already sat back down and throwing more ingredients into the pot. Sky tapped Wind’s shoulder, a silent invitation to settle down. Wind glanced over at Wild pointedly, trying also to convey that something was wrong with Wild. Sky merely nodded solemnly, and then somehow, with a firm but gentle hand, shoved him back down into his lap. Wind landed with a little oof!, and grumbled back up at Sky. He may be sick, but he wasn’t meant to be manhandled—

     Sky let out a long, dramatic sigh, loud enough for probably the entire camp to hear. Even Wild flicked an ear their direction, but didn’t take his eyes off of idly stirring whatever was in the pot. 

     “Wild…. Hey, I need a break. Would you switch with me? I can stir for a while.” 

     Wild looked up languidly from the cook pot, letting the spoon grow lax in his fingers. He surveyed Sky and Wind, weighing his options, and then got to his feet. 

      “Sure, I guess…” he mumbled. Sky smiled softly and Wind pushed himself into a sitting position once again. Sky was not their best strategist. He definitely was not full of information like Four or even Warriors was. But somehow, whenever one of the chain was sick, physically or mentally, he always came up with ways to coerce them to rest. It was something Wind admired about him, especially considering that he was the best at it he had ever seen. Well, aside from Grandma maybe. But thinking about Grandma, and her hugs, and her soup… they tore Wind’s heart apart. So he shoved all the memories of her aside and cuddled up to Wild’s shoulder, leaning back against a boulder. No sooner than did Wild’s head fall onto Wind’s did his breaths begin to fall evenly, marking the Champions descent into unconsciousness. Wind sighed, allowing his brother’s unnatural warmth to cradle his frayed mind. 

     “Hey Sky,” he murmured, making sure to be loud enough for him to hear. Sky and Four both looked at him curiously. 

     “Wild cuddles are better than Sky cuddles anyways.” Wind breathed, letting a little smug grin paint his features. Sky rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out playfully. 

     The heavy scuff of steel-toed boots made their way over to the fire, and Warriors surveyed the area. Mostly Wild. He crouched down next to Wild and Wind  and placed his hands on Wild’s face, his neck. He chewed the inside of his cheek and then stood back up with a sigh. 

     “Fever?” Sky asked. The Captain nodded. 

     “Yeah. I think we caught it early enough but it looks like he’s got the same bug.” He confirmed. He must have been listening in on their conversation, Wind thought. Warriors leaned over again and felt Wind’s temperature for probably the fifth time that night. 

      “And how’s our sailor doing?” He asked, smiling jovially. Wind gave a small smile back, responding with no more than “little better”. Truth be told, he wasn’t feeling any better than the last time that Warriors had asked. But that didn’t matter. Wind could at least pretend a little longer for the Captain, especially after his display that morning. 

        A few minutes after their brief interaction, the stew was portioned out and passed around. Wind’s stomach growled as he cupped the small bowl he had been given, leeching the warmth from it. He breathed in the steam, hoping to clear out some of the gunk in his sinuses. Simultaneously his mouth watered at the gentle aroma of miscellaneous vegetables and his heart pitter-pattered against his rib cage. He might very well just puke this up later. His stomach had been tying itself in knots all day, churning uncomfortably in its emptiness. He could hear Warriors whispering in his ear: “The quickest way to fix it is by eating, that’s why it’s bothering you so much.” 

          And Wind knew that it was right. But still… the thought of wasting their precious food was almost more uncomfortable than the nausea. 

         Warriors hadn’t said anything to Wind yet about eating his share. After that morning, Wind was pretty sure if he had then there would be uproar. But he knew that Warriors was watching him, waiting for him to refuse. 

        Wars expects better of me when than this. He wants, no, needs me to get over myself and my stupid brain. This is ridiculous and he knows it. Come on, Wind, how is he ever going to be proud of you if you can’t even feed yourself? 

         Wind steeled himself, and started putting spoonfuls of stew into his mouth. He tried not to think about the taste, the texture, the smell. He tried not to think about how much of it he was eating, how even the small rationed portion was larger than what he had been eating previous. He needed Wars to know that his soldier was brave. And capable. And—

       And would do anything to know that you still believe in me like you did back then. 

      By the end of the meal, Warriors caught sight of Wind’s empty bowl, and gave him a pleased smile. Wind gave one back. 

      Despite the warm feeling that trickled through him at the silent praise, the pressure building in Wind’s stomach, pressed up against the back of his throat, loomed over him like a heavy cloud. 

========

     Legend truly tried to take a watch, practically fought tooth and nail. Time had been merely hesitant at first, given Legend’s lack of sleep the previous night, but the decision was made final when essentially half the Chain ganged up on him. Four had been one of them. He thought, logically, the less exhausted Legend was the less irritable he would be. Maybe a little less nosy too. It left Four with second watch, but it didn’t bother him much. The colors would have kept him awake anyways. 

     He counted down the hours by idly counting the stitches in the embroidery on his tunic. He used the numbers to slow his breath for the first time that day, allowing his frayed nerves a balm against the constant onslaught of potentially triggering events. He knew he wasn’t handling any of this well, and that was making it all worse. There were times when he wished he weren’t so self aware of this fear of his. 

     Only half an hour before Hyrule’s watch. He mused to himself, watching the moon crawl sluggishly across the inky blackness of the Lorule sky. There were barely any stars here, but the night sky was painted with almost indecipherable streaks of deep rich purples and blues. Four took another deep breath, freeing the last bits of lingering tension, and it ended in a yawn. At least he would be able to get to sleep easy. 

     He planted his chin on his fist and scanned the surrounding trees for signs of enemies once again. Once his routine check was finished, his gaze wandered over to the sleeping heroes. Two bedrolls were set apart from the others: Wild and Wind. When Wild had gotten sick earlier, the camp had gone eerily quiet. Several of the Chain made frequent trips to the nearby stream to wash their hands. Four’s own hands were cracked, dry and bleeding, from washing them too often. Once mealtime rolled around, no one really spoke, each too focused on their own anxieties to converse. Wild had roused from his doze, but could hardly be bothered to even pick at his stew. Wind on the other hand, had managed to put down his entire bowl. The colors couldn’t decide whether that was a good or bad thing, but if the slightly queasy look that Wind had as he went to bed was any indication, Four was leaning towards the latter. 

     Four himself had been… frugal, to say the least. He’d had to eat, he was getting too shaky and his mind too jumbled to go without any food for a second time. But as soon as some of the energy trickled back into his system, he had quietly offered the rest of his food to Twilight. He had sent a quick prayer that Legend didn’t notice. The Veteran had been watching Four like a hawk, ever since their conversation the previous day. Four had replayed the exchange over and over in his head since then. Did he say something wrong? Was he being unreasonable? Had he come off a certain way? 

Probably yes, to all those things. Green grumbled. 

I still don’t understand why he needs to know so badly. Red whined. Blue flared up. 

Because he’s a nosy, know-it-all bastar—

Sh! Did you hear that? Vio snapped. 

     Four sat up, swiveling his ears towards the sound. He could have sworn it was a rustle in the strangely lavender bushes, but he saw no movement. He squinted into the darkness, only to hear the sound again, this time unmuffled by colors, he could tell it was blankets, not leaves. He relaxed again, and instead went to investigate the origin of the sound. He went first to Legend, the member most known to be stricken with nightmares and strange dreams. But no, Legend was sleeping peacefully, one leg out in the open and drooling on his pillow. Four swept across the other heroes, and finally landed at the edge of camp, where Wind and Wild lay sleeping. Wind whined in his sleep, flipping over onto his side. Twilight’s pelt had been thrown to the side in the scuffle. Wind continued to whimper, a haunting sound emerging from the dead silence of night. 

      Four’s stomach twisted. 

It looks like he’s having a nightmare. 

Oh no!! Wind has terrible nightmares, we should go wake him up! 

What? No! We can’t get too close to him— 

Blue, stop being ridiculous. We can’t just let him suffer, that’s the opposite of being a hero. 

Green, I think Blue’s right… Vio reasoned If we panic, we aren’t going to be able to help him anyways. Red started tearing up at that prospect. 

No! I won’t let you all stand back just because we’re scared! 

Oh no you don’t, Red! When we split I’m gonna— 

     Four rose to his feet, physically wrenched from his sitting position. Blue screamed in protest, making Four’s hands shake, but Red was a force to be reckoned with when he got like this. He’d been fighting all day to just comfort someone, Hylia-darn-it! 

     Four made his way over to Wind, noting how the small whimpers and cries were getting more desperate and frequent. He swallowed back his own apprehension and crouched next to his youngest brother. His heart hammered in his chest as he placed a hand on Wind’s forehead. He was still too warm, markedly so. Must be some kind of fever dream then. Red took over and swept Wind’s sweat-soaked bangs out of his face, hoping the touch would rouse him. Wind’s face screwed up, some kind of mixture between fear and discomfort, only compounded by the dark shadows staunchly contrasting with his ashy complexion. Four chewed on his scabbing lip, weighing his options. Then the scale used to do the weighing was dismantled and replaced by Red’s overwhelming need to comfort everyone and everything in a five mile radius. So, despite how painful his chest was tightening and how hard it was to draw a full breath, he shook Wind’s shoulder. 

     “Wind, wake up!” He whispered harshly. “Wind!” 

     The Sailor’s eyes flew open, and before Four could even get out of the way, he shot forwards, and the two collided with a smack! Four couldn’t help a small stifled cry from escaping him as he reeled back, rubbing the spot on his temple that Wind had rammed his shoulder into. Wind himself hardly seemed to notice the impact, looking around for something clearly not there, heaving breaths making his entire body tremble. 

     “Where’d it— Where’d it go? What—“ he stammered, and then with a kind of strange realization, flicked his gaze up. His panting from before was getting dangerously close to hyperventilating as he glued his gaze to the black of night. 

     “Wind, it was just a dream, you’re okay. We’re just sitting in camp.” Four said, hoping to bring him gently back to clarity. Wind searched the trees, the area around them, before his gaze fell on Four and he seemed to realize he was back in the waking world. 

     “F-Four?” He asked, voice barely above a whimper. Four nodded. 

“Yeah, it’s just me.” He assured. Wind focused fully, eyes brimming with shimmering tears. But he relaxed slightly, even if he kept glancing up at the trees. 

     “S-sorry Four uhm—“ He cut himself off with a heaving sob which left him gasping for air and biting down on his knuckle to keep quiet. Four shifted closer and put his hand on Wind’s shoulder, gently shushing the boy. 

     “It’s alright. Nightmare?” He questioned. Vio’s calm was channeling through him, saved up for moments just like this. Wind nodded emphatically, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he tried and failed to contain his cries. Four reached over and stole a washrag, the one that they had just in case Wind’s or Wild’s fever spiked, and began wiping the moisture (both tears and sweat) from Wind’s face. 

     “Come on, just um… try to take some deep breaths, then you can go back to sleep, okay?” He coaxed. Wind shook his head vigorously.

     “N-no, ’s too spi-spinny, I-“ he broke off into a coughing fit. Four swallowed, gathering all his wits, and tried to formulate a solution. His comforting phrases were all locked behind the tussle Red and Blue were having, leaving only the animalistic urge to fix it. 

     There was an agonizing few seconds in which Four just watched as Wind sat there and cried, further curling into himself. Finally, something clicked in his brain and he was lunging forwards, wrapping Wind in a hug. It was fierce, desperate, hardly the soft and comforting embrace Red had been going for. But it was something. And it made Wind pause for a moment, and then relax into the position. Four wet his dry mouth, and slowly pulled Wind closer, cradling the larger boy the best he could. 

What do you think you’re doing? Blue growled. 

I am comforting our brother! 

You know what this means though, we’ll get sick, we’ll get sick and—

And it will be worth it! Wind needs us. 

NO! He NEEDS Sky, or Twilight, or even Warriors! Someone who knows what they’re doing! Not you fumbling over trying to tell someone that they’re going to be okay. Blue spat in Four’s head. You may be the most caring of us all, but you sure are bad at your job. What are you even here for, just to make us cry? Just to be emotional?? To pine uselessly for the ability to comfort?! 

     Four’s eyes welled up with tears, and suddenly his tunic felt too tight. Red went silent, leaving Blue fuming and steamy, blazing firy trails of anxiety in Four’s consciousness. 

     “D-do you want to tell me about it?” Four asked, wavering, barely audible. That was all Violet, coming to swoop in and rescue their hopeless situation. If Four’s hand suddenly became two instead of one, then nobody noticed. And he tried not to care. But Wind did not seem to catch the wobble in Four’s voice, so he inhaled, and started talking. 

     “Th-the birds, they came. Helma—hic—Helmaroc King. They took her again, and—“ he paused, sucking in a stream of snot that threatened to break free of his nostrils. “And even with my grappling hook, and my deku leaf, and my hook shot, I couldn’t reach her. They just—just kept taking her farther and farther away.” He whined. Four rubbed his hand up and down Wind’s back, shushing him gently. 

     “That sounds terrible, I’m sorry” he admitted. Wind hitched with fresh sobs while Four tried to steady his own breathing. 

      “It—it was—“ Wind was cut off by an explosive round of coughing that echoed deep from his lungs out into the camp. The force of them made the muscles in Wind’s diaphragm to spasm out of control, until the churning in his stomach rose to a crescent and he had to smother a gag behind his hand. Four was scrambling back before he even had the chance to think about it, his mind kicking back into survival mode. Red roared back to life, the only thing keeping Blue from forcing Four to turn tail and run. 

     Wind curled over his stomach, a hand clamped over his mouth. Hot breaths slipped through his fingers as he tried to push down the nausea bubbling up in him. Four tried to take a deep breath through the heavy wash of dread that settled on him.

We got this far, we have to finish it. Green pointed out. 

There’s no-one else to help him, we have to do it! 

Absolutely not! I’m not getting near him, 

—een’s right, if we leave now—

—gonna puke he’s gonna get it all over us, we’re gonna get sick and then we’ll puke-- 

     Wind gripped the ground as Four’s hands went to his ears, trying to block out any noise. But it only amplified the voices in his head. 

We might split if we keep this—

—won’t! All we have to do is— 

--just SHUT UP!— 

—GOGO GETOUT L E A V E— 

—LET’S— 

—JUST— 

—PUSH— 

—THROUGH—

      Four puffed out a breath, blinked through the pressure behind his eyes, and reached for the bucket. All he had to do was give it to Wind, and then not give in to the panic gripping his body like a straitjacket. Breathe normally, except don’t breathe through your nose then you’ll smell it. Just sit there, except you have to close your eyes and cover your ears so you don’t see. Just be there for him, except you can’t because every single instinct in your body is screaming at you to escape this prison you made for yourself. 

     Wind took the bucket in his hands, squeezing the vessel so hard in his hold that his knuckles went white. Four shoved his fingers into his ears and shut his eyes, but he could still hear things, and if he could hear them, then it was playing out as a scene in his mind. But oh, what was he doing? He wasn’t helping, he was just sitting there! 

     One of the colors, he couldn’t tell who anymore, reached out and started rubbing small circles into Wind’s back, braving the consequent uptick in his heart rate. Wind seemed to relax slightly, and curled protectively over the bucket. 

     Four heard Wind’s stomach preparing to heave up the first round, the liquid inside bubbling up and preparing to leap. Four’s hand faltered and he resolved to just lay it on Wind’s back, instead ramming his own shoulder up to his other ear, head leaning at an entirely unnatural angle. 

     “I-It’s okay, Wind. Just let it up, it’s okay.” Four said breathlessly. He wanted so badly for those words to be true. He wanted so badly to believe them. But when push came to shove, when Wind finally lost the battle with his stomach, all Four could do was wrench his hand back and cover his ears fully again. White encroached the edges of his vision, ringing filled his ears. At least it was better than— nope, he could STILL HEAR IT. 

     Tingling developed in his fingers, just between his eyes, he couldn’t even tell if he was breathing anymore. He didn’t really care, he just wanted this to end. He wanted the mad beating of his heart to stop, for just a moment. He wanted his thoughts to for once, unify along with his body, and he wanted to just be free of this punishing existence, of being so, incurably afraid of a natural bodily function—

     “…Four?” 

     Wind’s whimper somehow managed to cut through the white noise, and Four looked up. He didn’t remember when exactly he had curled over the ground, but that was where he had ended up. His chest heaved fruitlessly, and he did his best to brush the tears from his cheeks as he realized that Wind had just seen that. He’d seen Four panic, break down, and he wanted to scream that it wasn’t Wind’s fault, and if Four could he would have been holding Wind’s hair back. He could have been there for his brother instead of sniveling on the ground next to him and forcing him to bear the burden of illness alone. And more than that, now Wind was going to think that either Four was a coward (which he was), or that somehow this was his fault, and Four wanted so badly for him to understand and know that it wasn’t Wind’s fault. 

     It was no one’s fault but Four’s. And maybe, if he could just gather a shred of his courage, he could try to make it better.

     Four yanked himself to sit up again, wincing as his heart ached. 

     “Wi-wind um— Wind do you— I’m sorry, I’m— I mean do you want um— want water?” 

     The world was spinning, ground tilting underneath him. Maybe if he could just focus on helping Wind through these next few minutes, the Sailor would forget about how Four sat and cried and shook as he threw up. Maybe by the morning he would have lost the memory to fever dreams. 

     Wind gave a small nod, and pushed the bucket away from his bedroll as he laid back down. Wind didn’t even look Four in the eyes. Whether from shame or guilt, it wasn’t clear.

     The Smith stood, nearly falling right back down when all the blood rushed to his feet. How ridiculous would it have been for him to pass out. He wasn’t even the one sick. 

       He nearly forgot what he had stood up for in the first place, after the dizzy spell passed. A quick recall of the last few minutes formed an answer, but it also forced his hands back to his ears. He desperately encouraged the whistling of the breeze in the trees to drown out the sound of retching that his mind was still replaying over and over. His shaky legs took him to where all of their supplies were piled up, moving almost on autopilot as he searched for Wind’s water flask. He found it on the edge of the pile, shining bright against the firelight.

     He was back at Wind’s side before he could decide he would rather hole up in a tree somewhere, only to find that the latter was curled up under all of his blankets and sleeping soundly. 

     Oh, thank Hylia. He whispered internally. The waterskin was set down by Wind’s head, and Four glanced up at the moon, doing a double take when it blipped in and out of focus a few times. It was time for Hyrule’s watch. With how hard it was to breathe, and how loud Four’s head was, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep. He had half a mind to just say he’d lost track of time and forgot to wake Hyrule for his watch, but then Hyrule would put Four on his list of people to keep and eye on. So he might as well bite the bullet and spend the rest of the night quietly stewing in his bedroll. It wouldn’t have been the first time. 

     Four shivered and made his way to where Hyrule was sleeping. His tawny strands of hair splayed around his head like strings of a spiderweb, some that fell over his face swaying gently as his breath moved them. Four’s hands shook as he gently nudged Hyrule’s shoulder. His chest was heaving, but too fast, causing the trees in the background of his vision to wobble. 

     Being a light sleeper, Hyrule soon opened his eyes, his forest green irises seeming to shine in the night. Four focused on those eyes, they were so beautiful and warbled, like emerald refracting a beam of light. Oh that’s right, Four was supposed to say something. 

    “U-uhm, your- time, it’s for your- time watch.” 

     Wow, smooth. Hyrule probably thinks we’re having a stroke. 

Don’t you even s-start Blue, this is YOUR fault! Red wailed. 

      Hyrule squinted and sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

     “…what?” He asked, blinking away sleep. Four took a shaky breath and tried again, going over each word with deliberation. 

     “I-it’s time for your watch.” 

      Hyrule yawned and nodded, stretching out. Four tried to breathe slower, only succeeding in just holding his breath until his lungs force it out of him, making his head fuzzy. Hyrule relaxed as he finally came to full wakefulness, and then his brow drew together and mouth twisted into a frown. It was that signature look that he got when he noticed that something wasn’t quite right.

      “Hey, woah, what’s wrong?” Hyrule asked, hands fluttering near Four’s shoulders. Four flinched back and stammered before he could think about his answer. 

      “N-nothing, I’m alright.” 

      “Yeah, and I’m a fairy.” Hyrule quipped, rolling his eyes. “You look awful, do you feel alright?” 

       Hyrule laced his words with honey, and they felt like a balm to Four’s overfull mind, muffling the vibrations in his head. 

      Hyrule wouldn’t judge us, he’s got that honeycomb thing. 

      It’d sure be easier to just tell him rather than try and hide it. We’re clearly distraught.

You-You guys are serious?? If Hyrule knows, everyone will—

     “I feel alright, just anx- Um- Wi-wind threw up and-“ 

     “Oh, oh no….” Hyrule said before Four could finish. “Is he alright?” Four nodded, unable to form words any longer. He put his face in his hands in an attempt to shut green up, who was rambling on and on about revealing their weaknesses. He heard Hyrule hesitate, then ask: “Are… you ok?”

      Four paused as the colors exploded into argument, trying to decide what to do. Then he shook his head slightly. Oh, Hylia, he was dizzy. Hyrule hummed, and Four felt his fingers brush against his cheek. 

     “No fever… do you want some tea?” 

     “You don’t have to-“ he tried to protest. Hyrule cut him off. 

     “Nope, I’m doing it. I don’t know what’s the matter, but I’m not just going to ignore the fact that you look like you’re about to keel over.” He stood and began preparing a tea kettle while Four sat, letting his hands fall into his lap. Tremors wracked his body, forcing his teeth to clack together. 

     The silence was blessed, for the time that it existed. It allowed him time to sit and count his breaths, make his heart beat just a slight bit slower. Four was soon presented with a warm cup of tea that smelled of lavender. He wrapped his stiff fingers around the ceramic and let the warmth seep into him, melting off some of this tension. 

      “I’m sorry.” Four whispered. Guilt was pulsing through him like blood. For not being able to help Wind, for burdening Hyrule.

Hyrule tilted his head. 

     “Why are you sorry?” 

      “For being so dramatic. I know it’s kind of silly.” Four mumbled, taking a sip of his tea. The floral flavors made soft blooms on his tongue, coaxing his muscles to relax. Hyrule half smiled and leaned back. 

     “It’s alright,” and he took a long hesitation, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to say the second part. 

     “I’m a pity puker too, I understand.” 

     Simultaneous relief and disappointment washed over Four. He supposed a small part of him wanted to be known, to be understood. To be an open book. But he’d tried that before and it never worked out right. 

He gave Hyrule a small smile. He had known that Hyrule was a pity puker. Four kept tabs on all of those things. Time and Twilight both got motion sick, but Sky had a stomach of steel with the exception of spicy foods. Four kept tabs on all of them, what made them tick.

     He had known that Hyrule was a pity puker, but it still felt good to relate to him in a similar way, despite Hyrule being incorrect in his assumption. 

     Oh, the little things. 

Chapter Text

        Despite all odds, Wind opened his eyes that morning to find… he was not cold. Nor was he hot. In fact, his bedroll seemed just the right temperature. He had forgotten what that felt like. The moment his other senses came back online, he sat up and reached for his water flask, fighting back a grimace at the acrid flavor bathing his tongue. The taste in his mouth was just positively foul. He washed it away with a few swallows from his flask, the water a cool balm for his dry throat. And for the first time in days, the liquid seemed to provide relief to his aching throat instead of angering it. There was still an annoying, dull thumping in his head, and he didn’t feel like he had gotten nearly as much sleep as he had, but… maybe he was on the mend. 

         Relief washed over him, and he let his shoulders drop. Thank Hylia, maybe now he could go back to normal. It would all work out. He wouldn’t have to slow someone down anymore. 

         “Sailor! You look better.” Warriors beamed, walking over to him. Wind gave him a smile, a true smile, this time. 

          “I feel a lot better too.” He confirmed. Warriors reached down to weave his palm under Wind’s bangs, and nodded in that smug, self-righteous way he did when he thought he was right. 

          “Just as I thought, fever’s gone too. I told you food would help.” He teased. At that, Wind’s stomach turned, shriveling up inside of him. But he fought the frown pulling at his lips and just rolled his eyes playfully. 

         “We’re leaving here in about an hour. Get your things ready and eat some breakfast. Don’t worry, Sky cooked this morning.” Warriors announced as he turned away, already moving on to another task. 

         Wind let his smile fall just as soon as Warriors left. He rubbed his thumb along the rim of his flask. Sure, he could have corrected Warriors. Could have snapped back that actually, the stew hadn’t stayed in his stomach at all, and he’d made Four cry. So no, the food really hadn’t been the reason for his sudden recovery, but Warriors didn’t need to know that. Because goddess forbid Warriors was ever wrong about anything. 

          The relief and joy gained from his release of symptoms was short lived, snuffed out like a candle in the wind. The night before rushed back to him in visceral waves, of the dream, the way his stomach revolted, how scared Four looked. 

          And he could have just swallowed it back for a little longer, maybe ran out of camp. But he hadn’t, and Four had crumbled, trying to stay. And Wind wanted to get up and walk over to him, apologize for not being able to control himself. He wanted to make it better somehow. 

           He hadn’t realized before how upset Four got when others were sick. He hadn’t noticed before how he avoided Wind, skirting around him. But now of course, Wind saw everything. He saw how Four was sitting by the fire, huddled close to it and beside Hyrule. He hadn’t acknowledged Wind at all, despite Warriors having been loud enough for everyone to notice. 

          It’s your fault, dumbass. You made him break down. Four! The steady one! You’ve somehow done the impossible. Great job. 

         Wind bit back a curse at his inner voice and instead rose to his feet to pack up his things. He’d messed up, royally, more times than he could count over the last few days. The least he could do was try and pull his weight now that he could stand without falling over. 

======

For all intents and purposes, Wind was alright. He may be… well, a little congested still, and maybe he hadn’t been able to eat much that morning, but what was new? If anything, what bothered him more was the mounting worry for those around him eating away at his thoughts. And walking through Lorule, when none of them were particularly chatty, left his mind to wander more than he’d like. 

And that morning, the prime thing to think about, despite his repeated trying to forget about it, was the night before. Confusion swirled inside him, working his reasoning and logic into a tizzy. Four was the stable one. Sure, Time was stoic, and Warriors was commanding, but Four was steady, always careful with his words, kept calm even in the face of life threatening situations. So it made absolutely no sense that he had broken down the night before. It wasn’t even anything that hadn’t happened before. It wasn’t like this was the first time Wind had thrown up. It wasn’t the first time that one of them had gotten sick on the road. Wind’s fever hadn’t even been that high, at least from what he could remember, so it wasn’t as if he had been dying or in danger. Maybe it was just a buildup of stress and anxiety over the course of a while, and the whole situation just triggered it? But even that seemed… unlikely somehow. It was a different kind of fear and emotional overload than Wind had seen before. It was primal, something deep inside the smithy that had reared its ugly head. And it didn’t make sense. 

Wind was sure that Four noticed Wind watching him. It was obvious, but Wind didn’t really care. Maybe it would be better to just ask him, to make sense of it all. 

But everyone has their secrets, Link. If you force his out then you might as well reveal yours. The voice inside him whispered. It shuddered through him, chilling his bones. Or maybe that was just the fever coming back? 

So no asking him then. If that was the case, then he needed to stop thinking about it. 

A little crunching noise sounded just at the toe of his boot, and he looked down to see that he had kicked a pinecone. As an afterthought, he scooped it up off the ground when he walked past it again, and tossed it up in the air a couple of times. The dusty, dried-out exterior of the cone was crumbling even in his hands. It wouldn’t last long, but he might as well have fun with it while it lasted.

“Hey Warriors, think fast!” he called, startling half the chain as it was the first thing said in over half an hour. Nevertheless, Wind chucked the pinecone ahead of him at Warriors. The Captain barely swiveled around in time to catch it, having to lean to the side in order to keep it off the ground. The smile he gave was weak, forced, a polite and fabricated grin that was gone far quicker than Wind would have liked. He chuckled wearily, and then tossed the pinecone back. 

“Save your energy, kid.” He chided. Maybe he had meant it to be loving, just a friendly admonishment. But it felt like a spear to the chest to Wind. He didn’t even bother catching the pine cone again. It was their little thing. Their little… ritual. Whenever things got too quiet they would toss things around, whether it be bottles or bits of bark, maybe even a bomb (although Time had strictly forbidden that practice after the incident). It kept the mood light. 

But it seemed that the dim light of Lorule, it’s desaturated colors, had sapped all the vibrance from them too. From Hyrule’s wobbly steps to Wild’s hunched and shivering form. And it just served as another on the pile of reminders that this was Wind’s fault. His fault that he got sick, his fault that he pushed himself too hard, his fault that they were all in this mess. 

Sharp scuffling piqued Wind’s attention, coming from just behind him. He followed his ear to the source of the sound, finding Wild righting himself after stumbling. Now Wind knew he didn’t look the greatest right now. He was probably still pale, hair slick with sweat and built-up oils, but Wild looked downright terrible. The fever flush staining his cheeks caused rivers of sweat to fall down his face, through his hair. His legs shook as they barely carried him onwards, steps punctuated by rough coughing. 

Multiple heroes had offered that morning to carry Wild, or at least help him walk. He had refused them all, claiming he was fine enough to walk. But he looked like he was eating those words. Or rather, he would be eating the dirt soon enough if he kept going like this.

        Wind slowed his pace to match Wild’s. The wary and concerned glances that everyone sent the Champion were not missed by any of them. Sky had discarded any subtlety long ago, walking unnaturally close to Wild and helping steady him every once in a while. 

         Wind had honestly been so overwrought with trying to figure his own thoughts out, he hadn’t been paying much attention to Wild. He was wishing he had been, now that he could see just how poorly he was faring. 

“Hey, uh, Wild?” He asked sheepishly. It took Wild a good few seconds to register that Wind had talked to him, much less comprehend what he had said. 

       “Hm?” 

        “I just uh… look, I’m sorry I got you sick—“ 

        “‘Mnot sick,” 

         “Right… well… I just mean… I think we can take a break if we need to. Ledge says we only have three hours today, so we have plenty of time.” Wind continued, trying to reason with the older hero. Wild made a dismissive gesture with his hand and shrugged. 

     “Told you, ‘mfine. Don’t need a break.” He argued. Wind wanted to snap back, wanted to just put an end to the foolishness and just force Wild to accept help, but he held his tongue. Doing that would just make him look like a gigantic hypocrite. And hypocrites are the worst kind of liar. 

      So Wind just sighed and walked a few steps ahead instead. 

       You’re running away from your problems again. Tetra taunted in his mind. Strange, seeing as you take on all the physical issues with all the precaution of a raging hog. That’s going to catch up to you sooner or later. 

        He shook his head, trying to get her voice out. He missed her, goddesses he missed her, but he didn’t want her in his head telling him all the things he was doing wrong. If he was home, maybe that would be different. But this wasn’t the Great Sea and this wasn’t his crew. 

         A raspy yelp sounded from just behind him. He whipped around only to find a worried Sky helping Wild to get back on the path after he had very clearly rammed straight into a tree. The champion looked dazed, staggering after Sky and not even bothering to nurse the bruise forming on his cheek. 

        “Hey, Time? We need to break.” Wind blurted. He winced as every head turned towards him, but he just pointed to Wild behind him. Time grimaced, and gave a nod. 

        “Half an hour.” 

         Wind didn’t hesitate to help Sky guide Wild to sit and pull out his remaining water. Sky was quiet, barely speaking words of encouragement as Wild hacked up a lung. 

        “‘Mtired.” Wild finally admitted. Sky let out an amused huff. 

        “Yeah, I know.” 

=======

         Four yawned into his hand, shaking the sleepy fuzzies out of his head. Sitting down to break was really not helping the tired feeling behind his eyes. Well... he was going to be here for half an hour… maybe he could close his eyes for a few minutes. Leaning back against a tree, he crossed his legs and let his eyelids fall. His neck itched at the feeling of bark pressing his hair to his skin. With a frustrated huff, he leaned forward and tried to swipe his hair out of the way, but it just swayed back to its place, not long enough to stay on his shoulder. Well, he wasn’t falling asleep with that feeling on his neck. For heaven’s save, it was the only reason he wore a headband in the first place! 

“What’s got yer bridle in a twist, Smithy?” Twilight asked. Four waved it off and fixed his expression back to neutral as Twilight settled down beside him. And much to Four’s annoyance, Legend had finally lowered himself to the ground not too far off. Every look that Legend had given him, every word, was an unspoken accusation, taunting Four, begging him to explain. There hadn’t been time for Legend to corner him properly. Four wasn’t going to let him feel powerful enough to do so. 

“It’s nothing.” He assured. Twilight squinted at him, sharp eyes clearly pinpointing something. 

“Mhm, right. Ya look tired, is you feeling alright?” 

Four sighed, rubbing his face. “Yeah, I’m fine, just didn’t sleep well. Had second watch and all.” He explained. Twilight just squinted harder, and looked like he was about to argue. Four quickly checked to make sure that nobody else was listening, before deploying his counter: “Anyways, who’s gonna talk to Wind?”

That seemed to get the attention off of him, because as soon as he said it, Twilight suddenly became very interested in a worm writhing in the dirt. Legend crossed his arms, chewing his lip as he contemplated whether or not to speak up. 

“I know that we said we would wait. And now that he’s doing better I think someone needs to talk to him. He’s clearly not going to say anything to us.” Four pointed out. “And no offense, Ledge, but I don’t trust you to talk to anyone about things like this, much less Wind.” He added. Legend scowled at him, face burning. With shame? Embarrassment? Four couldn’t tell. But he’d got his point across and that’s what mattered. 

“Well I… I dunno, I’m no good at talkin’ ta kids about important stuff. I fix scraped knees and show ‘em how to aim a slingshot but…” 

Four smiled as Twilight trailed off. 

“It’s alright, Twi. I’ll talk to him. But there’s no guarantee that I’ll tell you two everything.” 

Legend eyed him suspiciously. 

“Why? To add another secret to keep for yourself?”

“Because this is delicate. And more than anything, he needs to be able to trust someone. If I go around telling people things he doesn’t want them to hear, it could just make whatever is going on worse.” Four explained, staring Legend dead in the eyes. Legend’s mouth tightened, unspoken understanding passing through his expression. Four had to keep down a fiery insult that rose up at Legend’s blatant accusation.  

“Aye, he’s right.” Twilight conceded. “An’ this is why he’s the one talkin’ to the kid in the first place.” 

For a long moment, Legend did nothing but survey the other two with suspicion. He took a large breath, chest puffing out, and then he huffed and let it loose. 

“Fine. I guess you’re right. Don’t blow this.” 

Chapter Text

       Wind stifled a yawn behind his hand, a shiver running down his back. His clothes felt sticky and damp against his warm skin, soaked with the fever-sweat he had refused to acknowledge. He should have known, really, that it was too good to be true to recover in only a couple of days. He had been half-expecting it, really, but nonetheless he was thankful it hadn’t really hit until the last half hour of their march.

       He nursed his headache while camp was set up, not even bothering to sit down. Twilight, who had hauled Wild the rest of the march after he fell asleep during their break, set Wild down and began to set up both of their bedrolls. Sky helped gather everyone’s bags into the Bag Pile while Four built a fire and Warriors attempted to break into Wild’s slate.

       Wind halfheartedly looked around to see if he could help with something, but for the most part it seemed that everything was accounted for, so he sat down next to Wild and continued trying to rub the ache out of his eyes.

      “Why can’t I seem to— ugh it was right— aha!! Take that you stupid slate!”

      “Jeez, Wars, at least let someone who knows what they’re doing get the food out.” Legend quipped.

        “Aw, go easy on ‘im Ledge, you know the only books he ever read were those tacky beauty guides.” Four said calmly, not even pausing his kindling. That got a small chuckle out of Legend, a welcome sound after such a morose walk.

       “Wars, where’s that firewood? I’m gonna need it soon.” Four asked. After a few more frustrated growls from Warriors’ direction, he sighed.

       “I don’t see any. Might have to go and get some.” He admitted, his voice deflating.

        “I’ll find some,” Four offered easily. His tone was set strangely, even and sure, like how it was normally but with purpose. And if Wind knew anything about Four… that meant he was planning something.

          “But I won’t be able to carry it all by myself, Wind, will you tag along?”

          Wind finally pulled his hands away from his face and looked up, ignoring the flash of heat that bloomed across his cheeks. Warriors sputtered, clearly in disbelief that Four would ask Wind to help him when there are at least five other perfectly capable heroes to do the job. For a moment, Wind heavily debated just admitting he wasn’t feeling up to it, but…

        Well, maybe if Wars could see how well he was doing…

        “Nah, I’ll go.” He responded, hauling himself up to his feet. They positively ached , after having not been used for a while. He stilled himself for a moment while his head spun, but eventually stepped over to Four while he snuffed out the tiny flame he’d been kindling. Warriors drew himself up, setting his tone to that no-nonsense cadence he always took up when he wanted to get his way.

       “Now I’m not sure that’s a good idea, he’s only just now started feeling better, and—“

       “And he’s done just fine. After the whole ordeal, I think it would be wise for you to put a little more trust in him to speak up.” Four pointed out. Despite being barely over two thirds Warriors’ height, the captain shriveled under his stern look. Wind squinted, catching the violet glimmer in his eyes.

         “Well, but—“

         “Cap, I wouldn’t dream of trying to push myself like that again. Plus, it’s just firewood.” Wind piped up, disregarding how his voice scraped against the air. It hurt just to speak, but Warriors didn’t know that. And he wouldn’t know that.

        Warriors didn’t seem to have another argument to that, so Four started walking away. Wind followed, trying to ignore how he could feel Warriors’ gaze burning into his back. Waiting for him to stumble.

       Waiting for him to fail again.

========

      I can’t believe we are doing this, we should have just let Twilight do it!

         You know he would have just botched it, he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

          Sky then?

          Sky would coddle him. There is no way anything good would come of that.

          Four remained quiet as they searched for branches, scanning the barren ground for anything that could be burned. Wind merely stood in one place, looking around but not grabbing anything. Four had noticed the fever flush returned, he noticed the way that Wind’s eyes were glazed over and how he kept smothering coughs behind his elbow.

          “You can sit down if you want, I’ll gather up the wood.” Four offered quietly. Wind gave him a questioning look, a tilt of his head. Had he caught on yet that Four wasn’t really too concerned about the firewood?

          I’m telling you we should have waited until he was completely recovered. He’s obviously relapsing!

          But we’re already out here and this is the perfect opportunity. He seems alright enough to talk.

           “Sorry about this Wind, I um… I just had a question to ask you.” He explained. Wind took that as indication to plop himself down on a dry patch of ground.

          Four bent down to pick up one of the heartier branches and took a deep breath. Just say it.

          “You’ve lost weight.”

           Somehow, even the gentle noises of the forest stopped singing in stunned silence.

          “Me, Twilight, and Legend have noticed. I’m not going to tell them anything if you don’t want me to. But we’re going to talk about this.”

           He’d practiced the words in his head countless times. He’d memorized the tone he’d use and the emphasis he’d put on certain syllables. But still, it hurt to hear them come out of his mouth.

           Four continued picking up sticks while he was waiting, trying to ease the pressure off of Wind.

          “…oh. That.”

          “Yeah. You weigh less than I do right now.”

          The sharp intake of air from Wind’s direction had Four raising an eyebrow and looking over towards him. The kid had been all but drained of any color, digging his nails into the ground.

          “Something tells me you know that, though.” He added.

          “I hadn’t… I didn’t realize that…” Wind trailed off, putting his head in his hands.

           Four’s stomach twisted. A part of him wanted to just end the conversation, just say it was all okay and it would work out eventually, but it wouldn’t , and they couldn’t pretend any longer. Four knew the power in recognizing a problem, addressing it. And that was what had to happen. He just wished it was easier. He wished that he could show Wind that he didn’t judge or think any less of him.

            “Four, someday, someone out there is going to see you and feel just a little bit less alone. A little less broken, a little less like they need to hide.” Sky whispered in Four’s mind.

            Maybe… that person wasn’t so far away after all. Four was scared, scared to lay out his secrets. He was scared to be seen, even more scared to not be known. He was scared that there would be nothing he could do to make Wind see that he wasn’t alone.

           But… he could try.

           “I know that… whatever is going on isn’t something I can fix. And I know you probably don’t want to talk about it. But we need to, so I’ll make a deal with you.”

            Wind did not respond, but he let his hands fall from his face, looking up expectantly.

            “If you tell me about it, then I’ll tell you why… what happened last night… happened.”

             Four had Wind’s full attention now, his ears perked up out of curiosity. His gaze flicked back to the ground, weighing his options.

            “Alright,” he conceded “but you have to go first.”

             Four nodded, and then turned back around to continue his task. He let out the breath he had been holding, his hands shaking  around the branches he was carrying. His stomach curled into knots, mulling over what he was going to say.

             Just tell him what we told Sky!

             What DID we say to Sky??

             Um…

             I think it went something like….

            “I um… now you can’t tell anyone. Especially Legend.”

            Okay well it definitely wasn’t like that.

            Come on Blue!

           It’s fine! Come on, just…

            “Alright. I mean… you’re doing the same thing for me.” Wind agreed. His sentence ended with a grating coughing fit, hacking up the congestion in his lungs. Four unclipped his water flask from his belt and handed it to him without thinking about it. Through his coughing, Wind took it and managed to quell the convulsions by sipping at the liquid slowly until his breath stopped hitching.

           “Better?” Four asked. Wind nodded, giving the flask back. Four took it, but made a note not to drink from it before he could properly wash it.

           “Good. So um… I have this… really severe fear of v-vomiting. It’s—“ he swallowed, trying to take a deep breath through his words “It’s something that I’ve always had, as long as I can remember. It… I have panic attacks sometimes. About it. L-like the other day, when—“

         “So that’s why you ran away…” Wind interrupted, eyes lighting up with recognition.

          “Yeah. And I am really so sorry, I wish I could have stayed and helped, but it—it…” Four stammered, having to halt his speaking for a moment to gather his words. “It makes it difficult to eat sometimes, especially if I don’t know where the food came from or how it was prepared. Or if… someone else is sick.”

          His sentences spilled out, years of waiting for someone to listen and truly understand finally breaking free.

           “And I know that it’s irrational, and stupid, but it’s like my body just goes into survival mode. I can’t stop it, and… and I hate that I can’t.”

            His last word echoed softly through the canopy of desaturated leaves. It hung there, waiting to be acknowledged. Four sat, and waited. He watched Wind’s face for disgust, pity, something other than… understanding. Acceptance. A small bit of curiosity.

           But there was no jut of Wind’s chin or sour remark rising up out of the Sailor’s mouth. Just a little tilt of his head, a contemplative blink, and then a comment.

          “That… makes so much sense.”

           The world lit up. The sun hit the leaves in such a way that they spread mossy patches of mosaic light on the lavender grass. The air warmed, just a little, a passing breeze. The heavy fog of doubt and fear lifted just a little and allowed Four to breathe.

           “It seems really obvious now. Do… why haven’t you said anything?” Wind asked. In an effort to keep quiet, his voice was almost lost to the chirp of snap dragons. Four deflated where he was sitting, letting his shoulders drop as all the memories washed over him. The teasing, the condescending voices, the judgment.

             “Partially, because I haven’t needed to. But mostly… because a lot of people don’t quite realize how much it impacts me. Or they become protective. Sky knows and… while I’m grateful for that, he… tries too hard sometimes. And it ends up making it worse. I couldn’t imagine the others finding out.” He explained. Wind nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. Then more confusion crossed his expression.

            “But then why are you telling me?”

            “Because… I trust you. And I’m not just saying that. Plus I thought it might make it easier for you.” Four admitted. He felt lighter now, the tension leaking from his joints.

            “Right. That.” Wind said, curling in on himself. A frown painted his expression, somewhere between apprehension and shame.

           “I’m not going to force you, Wind—-“

           “I-I know, but… it was about time I said something anyways. Just… you can’t tell Warriors. Or Time. Or anyone. But mainly Wars.”

          “Of course.”

         “Alright um… here we go.” Wind began, sucking in a breath. “Do you remember a few months back when we had that food shortage and had to ration down to a third a portion?”

        “Vividly. But that was like… seven months ago, right?”

        “Yeah. Well um… I never… really stopped.”

        Four had to take great effort not to react in any kind of way. That shortage would go down as the worst the chain had experienced to date. They had all been tired and sloppy, getting hurt by even the easiest monsters.

         “I was doing alright with it, better than the others. I thought… maybe I could help by taking up less resources so it wouldn’t happen again. I wasn’t helping otherwise, if anything just causing more trouble. So um… yeah. I knew it wasn’t good but I didn’t think it mattered.”

          Four nodded, just letting Wind speak, however much he wanted to tell him that he understood , he really did. Wind bit his lip, the beginnings of tears shining in the corners of his eyes.

        “And-and it just got worse.” He squeaked out, his last word sounding more like a sob. “I tried t-to fix it, because I started getting really tired and dizzy but I tried to eat a whole portion and got really sick. And-and even now just thinking about eating it—it makes me so nervous.”

        Four opened his mouth to suggest taking a moment to breathe, to calm down Wind’s shaking words and teary half sobs. But the kid just kept talking, letting all his thoughts tumble out.

         “And Wars is mad because I’m not eating,  but he doesn’t get it, and I’m trying to be brave for him, it’s just hard when he’s judging everything I do, and I’ve really tried , Four. I’m trying .”

        Four swallowed back his growing apprehension, letting his expression fall into one of concern. He had been expecting the conversation to be difficult, but he hadn’t been expecting this . And frankly, he hadn’t prepared for it either.

        “I know, I know you have.” He breathed, scooting closer to his brother as an invitation for a hug or… or some kind of physical gesture. Even Blue’s objections to getting so close seemed almost silent. This was more important than that.

         Wind broke, curling in on himself as little cries escaped him. The situation reminded Four hauntingly of the previous night, but this time he could handle it . He could, and he would.

         “Hey, hey. You’re okay. Try to take a deep breath, okay?” He prompted gently. Red reached out and placed Four’s hand on Wind’s shoulder. “You can do it, look at me.”

         His shoulders hitching and tears streaming down his face, Wind turned to look at him. Fresh snot coated his upper lip, he tried desperately to swipe it away.

        “Good. Breathe in,” Four instructed, taking a chestful of air in. He held it, waiting for Wind to follow. When he did, Four let his breath out slowly. Catching the hint, Wind continued breathing through his cries. Though the tears still came, he worked on calming himself. Four rubbed his back, wishing he had a handkerchief or something, but hadn’t thought that far ahead.

        “Good, that’s good.” He muttered. Wind nodded, letting out one more breath before his tears paused.

        “Now before I say anything, I want you to know that I don’t blame you for not telling anyone.” He acknowledged. He had to be honest, in that position, he wouldn’t say anything either.

        “But… you know as well as I do that something needs to be done. This is dangerous for you.”

        Wind nodded, brushing tears from his eyes.

        “I know. I just don’t know what—what to do.” He whimpered. Four sighed.

        “To be honest, Wind? I don’t either. Outside of myself, I haven’t dealt with anything like this. But… if you’ll let me, I’m willing to help you figure it out.”

         Wind sniffled, furrowing his brow in an emotion Four couldn’t quite decipher. He sucked in a quick breath, voice strained as if there were more tears on the horizon.

        “Do—Do you really mean that?”

         Four allowed himself a little, wry smile.

         “When have I ever said something I didn’t mean?” He asked, a playful lilt to his words. Wind’s face broke out into a wobbly grin even as his eyes shined with unshed tears. Before Four could even prepare, Wind launched himself into a hug, encompassing Four’s small frame with his thin arms. His body shook with sobs that he barely contained, ribs pressing up against Four’s chest. Four had to fight to keep a startled grunt behind his teeth, but after the initial shock was over, he set his chin on Wind’s shoulder, wrapping him in an embrace as fierce as he was receiving. Warmth spread between them, both from Wind’s mounting fever and the relief of both parties. The secrets shed lay on the ground beside them, allowing for just a moment of reprieve.

        “Th-tha-thank you, F-Four” Wind stammered out. Four smiled to himself and gripped Wind’s tunic a little tighter.

         “Anytime, Sailor.” He muttered.

          Wind’s hold loosened, and Four took this as indication to break free from the hug. For once, Red faced no opposition when fat tears started to rolls down Four’s cheeks. He hadn’t expected to cry, but then again, he hadn’t expected the conversation to go this way. Wind sniffled and continued soaking his already dampened sleeves as he tried to scrub the tears from his face.

          “I don’t… I don’t know if you… want help but… if there’s anything I can do to… um… make it easier for you and your fear um…” he stumbled. Four shook his head.

          “Just being understanding is more than enough.” He assured him. Wind smiled again, bringing himself up to sit straight. His face was red and blotchy, heat coming off of him in waves. His eyes were puffy and rimmed with dark clouds. There was snot running down his philtrum, but still.

          It was the happiest and most relaxed Four had seen him in weeks. He opened his mouth to comment on it, but something snapped his jaw shut again. That something being a sudden, incessant pulsing of chaotic, swirling magic emanating from close by. The force of it hit him square between the eyes, the familiar aura of a fresh portal. Wind turned around to see it slowly growing from a little bush about ten feet away. Four swallowed, flinching as his discomfort grew along with the portal.

         “Actually,” he backtracked, “You can start by promising you aren’t going to throw up after  we go through that.”

         Wind sighed as he got to his feet, wobbling on unsteady legs.

         “I don’t think I will, but I’ll definitely let you know if I start feeling like it.” He grumbled. Four rose as well, brushing the dust off his legs. He stepped up to the roiling magenta expanse, the world of Lorule fuzzing in his vision as the magic grew stronger. It was large enough for the both of them to step through, now. He looked to Wind, nearly did a double take when he saw the sudden pallor of the other hero.

         “Hey, are you gonna be okay? You do not look—“

          “Dizzy. I don’t think this is going to play nice” Wind mumbled. Four swallowed, refusing to let his anxiety show. They didn’t have a choice, they both knew that.

         “Alright. Put your hand on my shoulder, try to keep conscious.” He instructed. Wind did so, just as the magic started to physically pull them closer. Together, they stepped through.

         Four was plunged into… nothingness. No thoughts crossed his mind, no skittering feelings or stray ideas… just emptiness. It was nice, for a moment, to simply exist as a husk of a person, just a form in the abyss.

         Then his feet hit the lush chartreuse grass of a field, dotted with poppies.

         Where did we end up this time? Is—

         Wind?? Where’s Wind—

         Awfully pretty sky…

          Feel woozy—

         —the sun spinning—

         Four staggered forwards as his body tilted, bringing Wind with him. The magic of the portal peeled off of him like a second skin, snapping back into obscurity as if nothing had happened. The ground became the sky, whirling around as the same entity, leaving Four unsure of where to put his feet. Thoughts exploded in his mind, overlapping with one another and stumbling over his efforts to right himself. His eyes shut, allowing himself to take a breath through his vertigo. His stomach churned, threatening to force up… well he hadn’t exactly eaten much, had he? He didn’t remember. That didn’t matter, Wind was—

         Four opened his eyes just in time to watch Wind’s eyes roll back, and he had just barely enough wits about him to reach out and shove his shoulder under Wind’s arm before he went down. The movement sent the world spinning again, and Four tried to suck in another breath as black spots dotted his vision. His head buzzed as the sounds of the new world blipped out of existence. He frantically looked up, searching for someone else, anyone who currently wasn’t in danger of completely losing consciousness. Wind started to slip from his weak hold, his knees wobbling to keep them both upright.

          Then he spotted, in the distance, even as it swam in front of him, a second portal, from which others were emerging. Four huffed out a sigh of relief, the ringing in his ears coming to the top of a crescendo. He could only hope that they would get to him in time to keep them both from falling as the darkness finally took over.

Chapter Text

       Four wrapped his hands around a suspiciously hearty plume of foliage and tugged, bracing his foot against the nearby tree to pull the radish from its soil prison. When it finally broke free, Four gathered himself for a moment to shake the mild dizziness plaguing him. It had been bothering him ever since the portal change, which only spoke to the impending migraine, but he still had time before it hit, so he might as well make himself useful.  

       The sheer size of the natural vegetation in Wild’s Hyrule would never cease to amaze him, and between he, Hyrule, and Time, they were making decent headway in restocking their food stores. 

       I’m starting to think that everything is bigger in Wild’s Hyrule. 

       For sure, I mean did you see that Hinox?! 

       Yes, Red, we all saw it. 

       “That is one monster of a radish, Four! Nice find!” Hyrule chirped. They’d been in Wild’s era for a little under a day, and already Hyrule seemed to be bolstered by the readily available food they had gathered. He was back to his chipper self. Four smiled a little. 

       “Th-“ he was cut off by a sudden yawn that he quickly stifled behind his fist. The incessant yawning was starting to get annoying. He was tired, had been all day. The switch in portals had stuck them at dawn, which meant they would all be staying up far longer than they wanted to in order to adjust to the new time. Typically Four did not have any issues adjusting like this, but the fact that he had been up for half the night the previous day meant he was going on very little sleep. That, and his hands were shaking after having not eaten since… when did he last eat? Honestly it was all starting to get blurry, and thinking about it made his head throb prematurely. 

       At least we haven’t thrown up? 

      Blue, please. In the grand scheme of things this is worse. 

      What? Nu-uh! 

      Guys, please don’t do this. 

      “Y’know, I don’t think it’s fair. Wild gets all the good ingredients while most of us are left with milk and soup. And in my case, literally just a slab of meat.” Hyrule grumbled, mostly just trying to make conversation. Four wrangled his thoughts together to form a sarcastic retort. 

      “Maybe because he can actually cook, unlike the rest of us.” He said, looking around for more fruit. Hyrule snorted, but crossed his arms playfully. 

      “Hey, I’m not that bad.” 

      “Yeah, you only gave half of us food poisoning.” Time chimed in, dropping some ironshrooms into a bag. Four understood the joke, but couldn’t help cringing at the memory. He’d been smart enough not to eat that night, but the aftermath… he shuddered to think about it. 

      He turned his attention back to foraging. It was all they had spent their time doing, really. The other team of Legend, Warriors, and Twilight was hunting game. The rest, being Wind and Wild, were back where they had made camp, with Sky to watch over them. Upon stepping through the portal, Wind’s illness had spiked drastically, nearly reaching the same severity as before his little bounce-back. Four knew he’d been relapsing as they were talking, but the portal seemed to have made it much worse. The same went for Wild, who hadn’t been roused from sleep in hours. Sky had gladly volunteered to stay back and care for them while the others went out. 

      Four himself hadn’t been out long, waking up soon after the others had gotten to them. The initial portal jump had just knocked his equilibrium completely out of wack, but after waking up he felt mostly normal if not for the tell-tale feeling of wrong that always came before a migraine. He was thankful for the time to adjust to the new area, as typically he got migraines almost immediately after switching. But he had gotten nearly ten hours this time. 

      Which is strange, and disconcerting. Vio pointed out. The thought was quickly squashed by the other colors. That didn’t matter. What did matter was that the chain was out of the immediate danger of starving, and the relief among them was palpable. 

      Four glanced around at the trees for apples, he knew that they grew readily in lots of Wild’s forests. He found his query in a few red dots up in a large oak. 

      “Hey, apples ho!” He called, pointing up to the tree. “Can someone lend me their hookshot?” 

      Hyrule plodded over to where Four was standing to look up. 

      “That’s pretty far up… are you sure it’s safe?”

       Four smirked, working up a little energy to be sarcastic. 

       “Of course I’m sure. As small as I am I’ve had to learn to scale heights.” He quipped. Hyrule scrunched his eyebrows together, but didn’t argue any further. A heavy metal contraption was plopped into Four’s hand and he glanced up to meet the warning look Time was giving him. He adjusted the hookshot to his liking and grinned up at Time. 

       “Thanks, old man.” 

       It took a moment for his arm to adjust to the weight, but once he was sure he had it aimed correctly, he pulled the trigger. The hook slammed into the trunk, just above the branch which would yield him the most apples. His body was catapulted after it, sending vibrations up his arm with every clink of the chain. He hit the branch with the soles of his boots, and then pulled the rest of himself up, putting him in arms reach of at least ten apples. He took a breath to shake the tension from his muscles, letting the sweet smell of the sap balm his senses. He wasn’t used to feeling tall, but up here… he felt a little less small. 

      He reached up and began plucking the ripe apples from their branches, mouth watering at the prospect of biting into one. His stomach growled at him, and he half debated just holding one of them in his mouth to snack on while they were foraging. Before he could make a decision on the matter, however, another yawn forced its way out of his lungs. His eyes squeezed shut as his mouth opened wide. When the yawn faded, he blinked and adjusted his vision. Only… it didn’t adjust. A little white fuzzy ring sat just at the edge of his field of view, slowly encroaching on more of it. 

      Dread washed over him like a bucked of ice. His head got lighter by the second, a warning that he didn’t have much time left. The colors began spouting various obscenities. 

      He groped for the rest of the apples, trying to grab as many as he could before the white obscured too much of his vision. By the time he had picked the last one and dropped it into his bag, he could barely see two feet in front of him. 

      Without much time to really contemplate the best course of action, he stuck the hookshot back into the trunk of the tree and let himself hang off the branch, being held up by the hook shot’s tenuous hold on the tree. All he saw was white, no colors or darkness, just light. Without much choice, he began slowly lowering himself to the ground, but it looked more like he was letting himself fall in increments. 

      He lost track of how far away from the ground he was, just continuing to let the chain relax bit by bit. When his feet finally did his solid land, the impact startled him so badly he jumped, and ended up staggering into someone’s stomach, the hookshot forgotten. Judging by the musky smell of old wood and paint, he had managed to run into Time, who did not hesitate to put both hand’s on Four’s shoulders to ground him. Four shook his head, trying to clear his vision. It did nothing except make the lightheadedness worse. Time’s warm chuckle enveloped Four gently, calming his thrashing heart ever so slightly. 

     “You alright there, Smithy? Didn’t think about how you were going to get down, did you?” 

      Four smiled despite himself and laughed a little as his body relaxed. 

     “Not quite, but I made it, didn’t I?” He pointed out. 

     “That you did.” He conceded. “I think we’ve cleared this area out, we’ll head south, to the next stretch of forest.” 

      Four’s gut twisted. He was going to have to tell Time and Hyrule. He was useless as he was, blinded. Even after his headache hit and the aura left, he would still be useless. It would be better to get it out of the way now instead of dealing with it while in pain, he supposed. 

      “Actually um, I can’t see anything right now.” He said quickly before Time and Hyrule could leave. He only realized how it sounded after it came out of his mouth. Hyrule’s alarmed squeak came before he could do any explaining. 

      “What?! Did you get bit by something up in that tree?” He fussed, unapologetically patting Four down looking for injury. Four remained calm, trying not to concern him more. 

     “No, I’m alright. This happens before um… before I get migraines sometimes. It started when I was up in the tree.” He explained. Hyrule breathed a sigh of relief. 

     “You should have started with that.” 

      Four couldn’t help but chuckle. Time hummed thoughtfully. 

      “No headache yet though?” He asked. 

      “No,” Four answered “I’m not sure how bad it will be either. It could be manageable but I’d rather not… risk…” 

       Four trailed off as the ground underneath him swayed, all sounds being drowned out by a very distinct fuzzy feeling. 

       “—our? Four!” 

       He shook his head, trying to get his bearings back. It faded eventually, but the whiteness still remained. 

       “S…Sorry, dizzy spell.” He muttered. 

       “That’s not good. We should go back to camp.” Hyrule worried, concern lacing his honey-sweet tone.

        “Agreed.” Time conceded. The metallic scraping sound of the hook shot being put away as he talked made four want to cover his ears. “Four, here’s my arm, hang onto it. Say something if you start feeling dizzy again.” 

       Four felt cold steel at his hand, and he took the incentive to wrap his arm around Time’s gauntlet. They began walking forwards together, Four wary of the sounds around him as they became more prominent. 

      The walked mostly in silence, save Time pointing out logs or obstacles. Four spent the time trying to calm the colors down. Their words ran together like a river, layered on top of each other in an indecipherable mess. At some point along the journey, Four decide that the darkness of having his eyes closed was more comfortable than the sterile light. 

      The only indication that they had reached camp was Time stopping his steady gait. Four tripped over himself as he halted, a brief moment of buzzing punctuating the transition. 

      “You’re back!” Wind called, a congested but excited exclamation. Four had to deliberate for a few seconds to work together a response, eventually mumbling out a “Hey, Sailor.” 

      “You’re back early… hit a snag?” Sky asked, a hint of skepticism in his voice. Four tried to answer, he could answer the question very well if the colors would stop trying to kill each other. 

      “Four say’s he’s going to get a migraine soon. We thought we’d come back before it came.” Hyrule explained. Sky’s feather-soft touch laid on Four’s forehead, cupping his cheek. Given that they knew Wind’s illness would spread, Four didn’t blame him for checking. 

      “Aura… um… I’ve lost my vision temporarily.” He slurred, trying to shed light on the situation for Sky. 

      “Does that normally happen?” Sky questioned. Four shook his head. 

      “Only… s’mtimes.” 

      “Strange… anyways uh… I made some soup for lunch, you want some? It’s just a veggie soup.” 

      “No thanks.” Slipped out before he could even think about it, out of habit. 

      We really should… 

      But you know how these things make us feel! 

      It will be worse if we don’t have anything in our stomach! 

      Four shifted, trying to unstick his sweaty clothes from his skin. It wasn’t even very hot, but the walk back had him drenched. 

     “Come on, I’ll show you to your bedroll.” Hyrule prompted softly, putting a hand on Four’s back to guide him. He heard Sky shuffle off to do something else, so Four let Hyrule guide him forwards. He took a couple steps forwards, the movement sending tingling up his legs. He halted abruptly as a fresh wave of lightheadedness sent inkblots spraying across the white expanse of his vision. With a shaky hand, he reached out to lean against Hyrule to avoid tipping over. He felt his brother’s concern wash over his as he leaned more and more weight onto him. 

      “Four? What’s wrong?” He asked, a level of apprehension to his tone. Four shut his eyes until the buzzing faded enough to let him speak. 

     “‘Mfine, jus’ a li’l weak.” 

      Hyrule gave a little hum of discontent. 

     “Yeah… no, you’re shaking. When was the last time you ate something?” He asked. To that question, Four didn’t have a response. Hyrule huffed out a sigh. 

     “I think you need some food. Hey, Sky? On second thought, soup is great.” 

      A twinge of anxiety wriggled in Four’s stomach like a snake. He didn’t want to eat, that was the last thing he wanted to do before his impending misery. But Hyrule (and Vio) was right. The strange symptoms made a lot more sense now. And it would be easier to get through the headache if he had something in him. 

      Hyrule led him the rest of the way, this time gripping him by the shoulder in case another dizzy spell came. Apparently, he’d been sat down beside Wind, because the salty tang of the ocean greeted him as he settled. 

      “Are you okay?” Wind asked, concern etched in his phlegm-coated voice. 

      “Think so… ask me again ’n an hour.” Four answered, trying deliberately not to slur his words. Wind laughed a little at the attempt at humor. 

      “That’s fair. You seem tired, though.” 

      “’S… kind of been a long day.” He breathed. The hours spun lazily in his memory, overlapping and blurring together. He felt Wind’s hand on his shoulder. 

      “Maybe you should try to sleep? After soup?” 

      “-going back out-
      “-back by nightfall-“ 

     Four shook his head, trying to ignore the other conversation happening. 

      “Um… his words faltered, simply not forming past abstract thoughts. 

      “I-I um…” 

      “I’ll take that as a yes… you can use my blanket, if you want. It’s thick so it will block out light.” 

      Four managed a little nod, distracted from the rather one-sided conversation by a warm bowl of something being placed in his lap. 

     “Here, it should be cool enough to drink. And Wind has your water.” Sky said, keeping his voice low. Four made a quick “thank you” sign with his hand, and then he heard Sky walk away again. Four wrapped both hands around the bowl, leeching the warmth from it while he pushed away the churning in his stomach so that he could take a sip. 

     The broth was light, vegetal and barely salted. It was almost like drinking warm water with a few chunks of carrots and radishes in it. Surely not the best soup he’d had, but the less it tasted like food the better for him, he supposed. 

     The silence granted to him was a much needed reprieve from the cacophony of his own head. He made his way mechanically through his bowl of soup, feeling the strength trickle back into his system. Even the colors seemed to quiet down, now that his stomach wasn’t growling at him. Sitting down had also seemed to help, the lightheadedness abated completely and left only the forboding white still clouding his vision. 

      He tipped the last chunk of carrot into his mouth and chewed it up, swallowing as he put the bowl down. He had been hungry, more than he realized. 

      A coughing fit announced that Wind was still sitting beside him, waiting for him to finish. Four licked his lips of the last of the salty broth. 

      “You feeling any better?” He asked. 

      “A little. I think the portal effects have worn off, anyways. But I still can’t shake this fever.” Wind answered, frustration edging his tone. “I just feel really weak.” 

     “It’s progress, I guess.” Four pointed out, trying to stay on the bright side for Wind’s sake. “Have you eaten?” 

     “…yeah.” Wind murmured, voice quieting in defeat. “Only half of it.” 

     Four’s heart twisted, conflicting opinions rolling around in his mind. It took him longer than he would have liked to decide on an answer. 

     “But you ate. That’s something.” 

      “…Yeah, I suppose it is.” Wind breathed, slightly stronger this time. Four smiled, then sucked in a breath to fuel another yawn. The pressure built behind his eyes as his jaw was parted, and to his surprise, when he opened his eyes again this time, his vision was back. He blinked the fuzz away, momentarily rejoicing. 

      Wind seemed to notice the shift in his demeanor, because he leaned forwards to come into Four’s field of view. But as soon as Wind’s ocean blue eyes met Four’s, what felt like a spear was shoved through his eye. 

     Pain exploded in his head, radiating from his right side and forcing his eyes shut. For a moment, his body disconnected from reality, then everything settled a little, allowing him to take a deep breath as agony pulsed through him. 

     “…you okay?” Wind asked quietly. Four tried to open his eyes to fully engage, but the light kindled the flame of his headache into an inferno, so he kept them shut. 

     “…jus’ hurts.” He managed. 

      This is going to be absolute hell. 

      Don’t remind me. 

     Hey what about those herbs that we took last time? They sure seemed to take the edge off it. 

     Oh yeah! I wonder… 

     “Hey uhm… could… where’s Sky?” He asked. Wind had to crane his neck to hear Four’s near-whisper. 

     “He’s… hang on, I’ll grab him.” 

     The sound of Wind’s scuffling as he stood up sent shockwaves through Four’s nervous system. He covered his ears to muffle the noise. He needed darkness, quiet, maybe a cup of tea. 

     “Four? What’s up?” Sky asked. The sound was warbled, barely decipherable as Four’s grip on reality slipped for a moment. 

     “Uhm…” he began. What had he wanted Sky for? Oh, right. “Do we still have those herbs? F-from last time?” 

     A silence followed, and Four wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Four peeled his eyes open, momentarily braving the light to see what was going on. Sky was crouched in front of him, biting his already scabbed lip as he clicked around on Wild’s slate. The more he swiped the less sure he seemed, but honestly Four couldn’t really tell past knowing that the look on his face wasn’t good. 

     After a few moments, Sky sighed. 

     “I don’t see them. Sorry, Four. I’ll ask around once people get back, but we don’t have them currently.” He admitted. Four couldn’t help a disappointed huff from escaping his lungs. 

     “’S alright, thanks Sky.” He muttered. The vibrations of his voice bouncing around in his chest sent ripples of pain up his neck. All he could do was sit there and watch as the world slipped in and out of focus. 

     “Do you want to lay down? You’re probably exhausted.” Sky coaxed, words soft and feather-light on Four’s frayed senses. Another spell of vertigo took Four over like sleep, threatening to pull him into darkness. He couldn’t bring himself to answer Sky’s query. 

     “…yeah, come on, let’s lay down.” Sky hummed. 

     There were hands on his shoulders, gently guiding him to a makeshift pillow in the form of a spare coat. The moment he was horizontal, the sweet release of sleep pulled at his senses in a seductive song. He vaguely heard Wind and Sky talking as he succumbed. He was so tired… so… tired. By the time it came along, Four was too far asleep to notice the churning and swirling of his stomach. 

===========

      Sky watched longingly at the spot Time and Hyrule had disappeared back into the woods. He’d assured them that Four would be just fine in his care. Hyrule was hesitant to leave so quickly, but Time had ushered him away before he could hover any more. Sky almost wished Hyrule had fought back a little harder to stay. It was overwhelming with only Wind and Wild to deal with, but adding Four into the mix… might be a little too much. 

      And it was only going to get worse from there, as more and more fell sick. He huffed, letting himself deflate as he sank to the ground. It was going to be difficult. The others had their responsibilities, and Sky had his. He truly did take on the task gracefully, it overjoyed him to comfort and assure. But it was a lot. 

      Even so, Sky was the best person for the job, he knew that. And he would do it to the best of his ability, even if it meant he was a little more tired than usual. He wouldn’t fail this time. 

     A light tapping on his shoulder jolted Sky from his own thoughts, and he swiveled around to see what he was needed for. Wind stood over him, scratching his head.

     “Do you know where my blanket I—“ Wind cut himself off with his own coughing. Sky winced as he continued to hack into the crook of his arm, turning red as the fit went on. When it finally abated, Sky was standing up with a hand on Wind’s back. 

     “Easy, easy… when was the last time you drank something?” He asked. Wind caught his breath, measuring his words carefully as to not trigger more coughing. 

     “Um… a while I think.” He rasped. Sky nodded. 

     “Sorry, Wind. I should’ve been keeping track. Sit by the fire and drink some water, I’ll get tea going for you. What did you ask me?” 

     “My blanket?” 

     “Oh, right. Uh… Didn’t you give it to Wild?” Sky asked, pointing to where Wild was huddled, still refusing to go to sleep, in front of the fire. He was wrapped in Wind’s thick handmade quilt, clutching it like a lifeline. Wind looked over to Wild, gaze almost unseeing. 

     “…oh.” He mumbled. Sky frowned, stepping forward to check Wind’s temperature again. He’d had a low-grade fever ever since the portal jump, but it wasn’t anything to worry about. Wind didn’t even protest when Sky pressed his hand up against his cheek, if anything leaned into the touch. Sky noted with no small amount of disappointment that the low fever had blossomed into the midrange. He carded his hand through Wind’s hair with a sigh. 

     “I’ll find you another blanket, just hang tight.” He promised, stepping away to do so. 

     “It um… was for Four. To block out light.” Wind corrected. Sky glanced back, noting the way that Wind shivered even by the fire. Sky smiled a little to himself. 

     “Then why don’t you see if he wants to share? I’m sure he would like the company.” He suggested. Wind nodded, coughing weakly into his arm. Sky shuffled around in the camp supplies, eventually locating a heavy purple blanket. He couldn’t quite recall whose it was… they probably wouldn’t mind. He turned around and draped the fabric over Wind’s shoulders, helping the kid wrap it around himself. Wind muttered his gratitude, relaxing under the weight. 

     “D’you think… maybe we could have ginger tea? Or peppermint? I think it would help Four.” He suggested. Sky tilted his head, confusion blossoming in his chest. He smiled a little, trying to disguise his concern. 

     “What’s all this sudden worrying over Four? He’ll be alright, he deals with this often, you know that.” He said gently. Wind bit his lip, looking over to Wild. The champion was nearly asleep, finally having laid down, but was still fighting to stay awake. 

     “We-well…” Wind whispered “He told me about his… um… his fear, and I just thought… maybe ginger or peppermint might help if he feels nauseous?” 

        Sky smothered the small bit of surprise that hit him with a grin. He ruffled Wind’s hair, leaving it sticking up in all sorts of strange directions. 

        “That’s a sweet thought. I’ll try and find some, but don’t worry too much.” He promised. Wind smiled up at him, sniffling and mopping his nose with his sleeve. Which was disgusting by that point. Sky couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose. He pulled out a little wash rag out of their stash and handed it to the kid, with silent instruction to please stop using your clothing as a tissue. 

         The sun was shining down on them, finally reaching high noon. It had been far too long since Sky slept. He could only hope that Time would call it a day once they got back. He yawned into his hand as he filled the teapot with water and set it on the fire. Now to find the tea…

         Truth be told, Sky had already been planning to make some ginger tea. It had become somewhat of a routine for Four’s migraines. Ever since Sky had noticed the Smith’s habit of making the same tea every time, he’d taken it upon himself to do it for him. He had just assumed that Four really, really liked ginger tea. But what Wind said made complete sense. Ginger was known to be good for nausea, and Sky knew that Four’s headaches sometimes would make him queasy, even if he never admitted it. 

        If he was being honest, Sky was a little annoyed at the fact he hadn’t made the connection sooner. And for Wind to do it so casually… 

         He was an attentive kid. He noticed more than he let on. Probably wiser than Sky realized. And at the same time still… a kid. It was a strange dissonance. Sky could see why Four would trust Wind with his secret. He was probably a better choice anyways, when it came down to it. 

          Sky hadn’t really understood why Four was so secretive about his fear before now. It was strange, to be sure, and irrational, but they all had irrational fears. At least that was what he had thought at first. But after seeing Legend both interrogate Four and then Sky about the Smith’s behavior, he was starting to see why. Legend didn’t even know what was going on, and he was judgmental to no end. And Legend, while prickly, was never the type to judge others for keeping secrets. 

          That conversation they had shared in sign… Sky didn’t know what to make of it. He’d denied knowing anything about Four’s behavior, denied his involvement. When Legend pointed out how desperately Sky had fought to run after Four when Wind had gotten sick… well, Sky was almost afraid the Vet was going to put the puzzle pieces together right then and there. But he didn’t, just so focused on the “what” that he bypassed the possible “why”. So Sky denied it one last time, and Legend had relented. 

           “You’re not benefitting anyone by doing this.” He had said. 

            Maybe not, Sky conceded as he finally found the tea. 

           But I have a promise to keep. 

Chapter Text

“Finally!” Legend cheered, at around the same time his arrow landed with a thunk square in the skull of a long-necked bird. The animal screeched and toppled over its gangly legs, falling in a feathery heap in the grass. 

“Ha! See, I told you I could do it! Someone owes me a blue rupee.” He taunted, giving Warriors a smug sneer. The captain rolled his eyes and grumbled as he fished a blue gem out of his bag. Legend plucked it from his hands before he had the chance to hand it over, dropping it in his own pocket with a self-righteous “thank you”. Twilight drew out an impressed whistle as he approached the fallen prey. 

“Nice shot, Vet. Wild’ll have a field day with this one.” He praised. Legend shrugged it off, shoving down the warmth inside that swelled at the compliment. 

“Like I said, it’s all in patience. That’s why Wars is so bad at archery.” 

“You wasted five arrows trying to get that shot.” Warriors deadpanned, raising a single eyebrow.

“And I was patient! That’s the key, my dear friend. On the other hand we have you, who breaks things when he doesn’t succeed on the first go.” Legend quipped smugly. Warriors’ cheeks turned bright red, lit aflame with embarrassment. 

“Hey now—“ he defended, raising a finger “—that club broke completely on its own! I wasn’t even hitting it on anything I wasn’t suppose to.” 

“I dunno, it looked sturdy, shouldn’t have broken without some serious blunt force trauma.” Legend argued. 

“It’s these weak weapons!” Warriors squeaked “Bokoblins don’t know what they’re doing, of course it’s gonna break.” 

Legend rolled his eyes at the weak excuse. For heaven’s sake, he’d watched Warriors slam that thing against a tree. 

“Whatever you say, I still won the bet.” He sighed, tromping down the hill to where the bird was crumpled. Twilight followed close after, and Warriors called a “wait up!” As he realized he was being left behind. 

“That’s a biggun alright.” Twilight noted as they came up beside the heap of feathers. “We’d ought head back before all this gets to be too much to carry.” He suggested. 

Legend gave a nod. 

“Good plan. You’ve got the boar, Cap has the fish and I’ll get the bird.” 

“Sure thing. Now let’s go see if the foragin’ team has come up with anything.” 

=======

Warriors, Legend, and Twilight kept up quite the conversation on the way back, so much so that upon entering the camp, their chattering warranted a harsh “shh!” From Sky. All three stopped talking abruptly and looked to where Sky was pointing. Wind was sleeping peacefully against a rock, leaning over precariously. Legend’s gaze drifted down to Wind’s lap, and a small seed of dread lodged itself in his throat. 

There, head covered by a heap of blankets, lay Four’s small curled form. He was out cold, by the looks of it, but still clinging to Wind like a lifeline. Legend’s heart dropped to his stomach, a small curse escaping his lips. Warriors and Twlight both made similar sounds as they dropped their loads to the ground. 

“Please, please be quiet,” Sky begged, his voice barely a whisper. “This is the first time they’ve all been asleep.” 

The normally calm, composed hero was anything but, with dirt in his hair, a washcloth in one hand, a wooden spoon in the other, and a crazed look in his eyes. Legend’s nose wrinkled up at the stench of medicinal herbs combined with vegetables and a fair amount of body odor. 

       “Sky, you need a bath.” He complained, though made sure to keep his voice low. 

       “Speak for yourself, Dustbunny.” Sky snarked back. Legend scowled as his cheeks turned red. Twilight snorted behind him, trying to cover his laughter. 

        “I’ve barely had a chance to sit, much less bathe. Taking care of Wild and Wind is one thing, but adding Four to the mix is entirely another.” Sky sighed wearily. 

         Legend peeked around Sky to look at Four again, only to find that the Smith hadn’t moved a muscle. That familiar sour feeling filled his chest again. Goddesses, even just looking at Four made him angry. They’d all learned keeping secrets did more harm than good, and Four was just being selfish by refusing to talk about whatever was going on with him. But… seeing him down like this… maybe that wasn’t what mattered right then. 

         “‘S he alright? Didn’ even know he was sick.” Twilight asked. Sky shook his head. 

         “Not sick, portal migraine. It hit later than usual.” He explained. Both Twilight and Warriors puffed a sigh of relief. Legend, however, narrowed his eyes. 

          “Are you sure?” 

          “I checked for fever, and he hasn’t had any other symptoms.”

Legend hummed to acknowledge Sky’s answer, but didn’t provide any words of his own. With how strange Four had been acting, he wouldn’t be surprised if the smith had been sick and just hiding it. And if Sky was in on it for some reason… 

       But that was just silly. Four and Sky wouldn’t do that. 

       At the same time, none of it made sense otherwise. 

       It’s a working theory, I can investigate further. 

Sky seemed to catch Legend’s suspicion, or maybe it was the unintentional sour look he had on his face. 

“A-anyways they’re all asleep now. Well Wild’s been asleep, but he’s somehow the worst out of the three of them.” Sky sighed, bouncing away from the topic with grace. He rubbed his eye, letting his shoulders slump. 

“Are you three going back out?” He asked. Warriors nodded. 

“Yes, we were just dropping these off. There are plenty more fish to catch.” He reported. Sky nodded, biting his lip in seeming deliberation. He puffed out a breath, putting his hands together before them. 

“Please. Please let me switch with one of you.” He begged, eyes earnest. “I love them, but if I have to tell Wild one more time that there isn’t a guardian after him, I’m going to lose it and I do not want anyone getting caught in the crossfire.” 

Legend wanted to roll his eyes, he really did. But he saw the desperation in Sky’s expression, the furrow of his brow, the raggedness of his person. And… well… 

“I’ll stay.” He grumbled. Even the birds stopped chirping to turn and look at Legend incredulously. 

       “A-are you sure?” Sky stammered, blinking din disbelief. Twilight looked downright concerned at the idea. There was a small sliver of Legend, the rational part of his brain that reminded him how bad he was at the whole… domestic thing. But the notion that he simply couldn’t do it was frustrating enough to make him double down. He scoffed, kicking at the dirt defensively. 

       “What, do you wanna break or not? I can babysit for a while.” 

        Warriors smirked, leaning forwards to make himself heard among the little huddle. 

“Vet, you? Of all people? They’d be dead before we got back.” He teased, most likely verbalizing what the others were all thinking. 

“I’d be more concerned if you volunteered, Captain, after what you did to that poor club.” 

“I was barely even a weapon!” 

“Oh, please, it wasn’t—“ 

“Alright, enough!” Sky interrupted, stepping between the two. “I have enough trouble with Wild, I don’t need you two waking up the ticking time bomb over there.” Sky snapped, gesturing to where Four was just barely stirring under his blanket. Warriors at least had the decency to look sheepish, but Legend just scowled and crossed his arms. 

         Sky sighed, turning to Legend. The look in his eyes was both grave and hopeful at the same time. 

“Alright. You can stay and watch over them. But you should know a couple things before we leave.” 

“Hit me.” 

Sky inhaled, and Legend tried not to react. 

“Wind needs a little dose of potion every hour to help with his acheyness, but not too much otherwise he’ll get too cocky, want to move around too much and spike his fever. Wild has been sleeping most of the day but he’s having nightmares and you know how that goes. Just reassure him he’s okay, ask him if he knows who and where he is, he’ll go right back to sleep. But whatever you do do not approach him from the left side, I have the bruises to prove that that isn’t a good idea.” He rambled, barely even pausing between sentences “Oh and Wind will try to help no matter what so you’ll have to keep him busy doing something mundane otherwise he will try and escape. Four needs quiet and darkness, don’t try to take the blanket away and don’t try to talk or touch him unless he initiates it. He’s not going to want to eat but he probably needs something more so if you can get him to eat an apple that would be great. Oh and we can’t find those herbs we used last time he had a migraine so if you have anything to help, it would make all of this a lot easier. Any questions?” 

Legend blinked. To be completely honest with himself, he hadn’t really heard any of that with how fast Sky was taking and how quiet he had to be. 

“Yeah. You sure that’s it? I feel like… there’s something else about Four that you’re forgetting to mention.” He questioned, stepping closer to Sky as if attempting to press the answer out of him. He knew it likely wouldn’t work, but maybe, just maybe something would slip through the cracks. Sky stepped back, clearly catching on to what Legend was trying to pull if his uneasy expression meant anything. It was the same unsure furrow of his brow that he had worn that night when Legend had first confronted him about the whole situation. 

“Nope!” Sky chirped, then plastered on a nervous smile. “Well if you’re all good then I guess we’ll leave okay bye!” 

Legend watched as Warriors and Twilight awkwardly followed Sky out of camp, shooting him pitying looks. As soon as they were gone Legend huffed. He didn’t need their pity. He was perfectly capable. He was a hero, it was kind of his job to take care of people. It couldn’t be too hard taking care of three ailing brothers. Even if they did keep secrets. He would just make himself some tea and relax until someone inevitably woke up. 

He walked over to make the tea with an uncomfortable prickling making his shoulders tight. His defensive crossed arms were more just wrapped around himself at that point. He didn’t even really know why, or understand why the feeling only ever showed as anger. He wasn’t even really angry with anyone. 

But he knew that he still acted angry. He still yelled, and he still teased, and he still couldn’t mind his own business. He supposed it was reasonable then, that nobody trusted him. It was reasonable that Four would allow Sky a secret as opposed to Legend, the walking land mine. Sure, he knew they knew he would take an arrow for them any day, but that was just the hero in all of them. What he really wanted was for them to feel like they could tell him things. 

He supposed he knew why they didn’t. He couldn’t control his mouth, the things that came out often weren’t pretty, and the empathy he so often felt was visually overshadowed by a grumpy scowl he couldn’t erase. It was like his body simply wouldn’t let him. Protection, the animal in him screamed. Prison, his heart corrected. 

So he knew why they didn’t trust him. He understood. He wouldn’t trust himself either. But it still hurt. And he still wanted to fix it. Especially when something was so obviously affecting the people he cared about. 

He sipped his tea as he sat there, focusing on the aroma of warm cinnamon and allspice that it provided. It reminded him of the first time he taught Ravio to make an apple pie. And the second. Because no matter how he had explained it that idiot just couldn’t seem to grasp how to make a lattice crust. The memory unraveled him a little, then served as just another ugly reminder. Because Ravio never told him about how hard it must have been to keep his identity a secret, to watch Legend go fix something he could not. He never said anything, even though Legend could see it. Because all Ravio ever saw was a prickly, know-it-all hero correcting him on just about everything. 

Then again… Legend had never asked him about it either. He made a note to himself to ask when he got back to his era. 

“Mm… hm?” 

Legend looked over and up from his tea to find Wind shifting where he was asleep, Four still draped across his lap. He blinked open his eyes with a yawn, causing Four to rouse from his sleep and begin silent, drowsy protests at his pillow developing a mind of its own. 

“Where’d Sky go?” Wind rasped. He swiped his hair to the side in an attempt to make himself look a little less like an electrocuted cat, but ultimately just made the bed head worse. Legend prickled. 

       “What, no ‘hey Legend, how are you doing? How’d you get dumped on nurse duty?’” He quipped. 

       “That doesn’t answer my question,” Wind grumbled, clearly already fed up with Legend’s incompetence. He rolled his eyes and swirled his tea around in his cup. 

       “He’s taking a break. Something about Wild putting him through the wringer.” 

       “Hm…” 

       “Wind.” Four hissed. Wind looked down at Four, who was apparently trying to push himself off of Wind. 

       “Right, sorry,” Wind said, lowering his voice. “You want help?” 

        Four grunted before wobbling on his arms, pawing at the blanket covering his face. 

        “Hot.”

        Wind carefully peeled the blanket away to free Four’s head. And once he’d gotten a better look at him, Legend was starting to worry about the severity of Four’s headache. He’d had them before of course. They usually happened after portals. But they never made him look this… pale. Sure a little was normal but the smithy was ashen, trembling as he curled back up on the ground. Wind seemed to notice too, carding a hand through Four’s sweat-soaked hair. He curled up even tighter, flinching at the contact. Wind tore his hand away, sighing. 

Legend took another sip of his tea, watching as Wind rose to his feet and went over to Wild. A strong sense of… shame? No, that wasn’t the right word. 

Legend felt inadequate. That was the right word. He wasn’t meant to do things like this. Even Wind, who was years younger and also sick, was doing a better job than he was. And Legend wanted to do something, but he couldn’t think of anything. 

Really, the only things that came to mind were snarky remarks that he didn’t really mean. 

So Legend pretended to drink his tea while Wind went and checked on Wild’s fever, and soothed him back to sleep. And then went back over to check on Four. He pretended not to notice the way that the two whispered so low that he couldn’t hear. He pretended not to catch the worry in Wind’s voice. 

       When Wind stood up and approached Legend, he tried his best to indicate he hadn’t been attempting to eavesdrop. What had they been talking about? What was so secretive about it that they couldn’t speak openly? 

       Was it whatever Sky and Four had been keeping secret? Why would they tell Wind? How many others knew about it? 

       All the questions and uncertainty left a bad taste in his mouth. Even worse the knowledge that whatever was going on he wasn’t trustworthy enough to know about it. 

       “Where’s the nearest river? We need more water for tea, and for a cold compress.” Wind rasped, poking at Legend’s shoulder. Legend took one look at the kid, taking in his shaky hands, glazed eyes, and flushed cheeks, and gave Wind’s shoulder a pat. 

        “You shouldn’t be walking that far. If you hold down the fort here, I’ll go and get some.” He grumbled, standing up. Wind worried his lip, glancing over towards Four, and then nodded. 

        “Bucket’s there.” He said, pointing to the bucket of dirty, tepid water. Legend grunted and went to grab it, leaving camp without another word. 

They wanted to keep secrets? Fine. Let them. 

======

Legend told himself that it was nothing, and that he was just overthinking things. He had assured himself that whatever Four wasn’t telling him wasn’t a big deal. But by the time that he got back to camp with fresh water, his heart was twisting into knots that he couldn’t untangle. And the only thing that could maybe loosen it was such an easy task… it almost felt a shame not to try. 

So when he stepped into the little clearing, he cleared his throat to get Wind’s attention. The boy looked up from where he was sitting next to Wild and nodding off, blinked the sleep out of his eyes before getting up to take the water. Legend almost felt bad for questioning him in such an exhausted state. Almost. 

“Wind...” He began, leaning the bucket away from him slightly. “I have a question to ask.” 

Legend had been expecting a few outcomes, but the dread that suddenly overtook Wind’s features was not one of them. His face creased, the whites of his eyes growing around his irises. Despite the clear worry, Wind nodded. It was just barely a nod, nearly imperceptible if Legend hadn’t been looking for it. He sighed, both the anticipation and shame growing with every second. 

“Four has been acting strange… and I think he’s hiding something. Do you know anything about it? I… It just seems to be causing an awful lot of unnecessary issues.” 

He was surprised at how easily and how gently the words slipped off his tongue. However what surprised him more was the myriad of emotions Wind seemed to flip through. Most confusing of all of them was first relief, which quickly turned back into apprehension and uneasiness. Legend wanted to pick apart the expressions, find the deeper meaning. Wind opened his mouth to respond when Wild whimpered in his feverish sleep, interrupting him. Though he made a quick glance back, he payed no mind to the noise. 

“Um… I-I don’t know anything, he’s been acting normal to me—

  And just like that, Legend’s little bubble of gentleness burst. 

“Liar! I’ve seen the way he’s been around you and how close he’s been clinging to Sky. I know there’s something so why won’t anyone tell me?” He rambled, getting louder as the molten lava boiled over. Wind flinched back, but stood tall, bringing himself to his full, lanky height. 

“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stated firmly. But Legend saw his gaze flick to the ground when he spoke. He saw that little uncertain twitch of his eyebrows, he saw everything. Or maybe he was just crazy, and he was just imagining all the signs that Wind was lying. 

But he wasn’t crazy. 

Right? 

For the moment, Legend couldn’t respond. He didn’t know how to tell Wind that he wasn’t really angry, he wasn’t trying to yell, he wasn’t trying to be a horrible person he just didn’t know what else to do. He just wanted to make things better. And this… had always been how he did it. Run in fire rod blazing, not caring what he hurt in the process. 

He didn’t want to hurt anyone, it just happened. It was just who he was. 

Maybe… he could try? 

“Wind, I…--“

He was cut off by another whine from Wild, this time longer and pervasive. It got Four to try and curl up even tighter (as if that was possible). 

“Wild, please.” He begged. Legend was suddenly very glad that they were on the other side of camp, far enough for their voices to be difficult to discern. In response to Four’s request, Wild flipped over in his bedroll and groaned louder. Four actually whimpered at that. 

Legend sighed, sensing that the situation would only grow worse if left alone. He was over by Wild’s side in just a few moments, crouched down trying to wake him. 

“Uh, hey Legend?” Wind piped up behind him. 

“Be quiet, Wind.” He snapped back. He could do this. 

“Come on, Wild. Wake up.” He prompted. When he got nothing in return but a distressed grunt, Legend shook his shoulder just slightly. A little noise came from Wind, and Legend was about to say something snippy again, but before he could a fist made heavy contact with his nose. 

        He yelped as he was flung onto his back. He hit the grass with a thump, stars splaying out all across his vision. The air rang for a good moment before things came back into focus. 

“I tried to warn you.” Wind sighed. Legend sat back up, rubbing the bruise on his nose. Pain radiated from his nose across his cheeks, pulsing with his heartbeat. He just scowled at Wind through the water welling up in his eyes. At least Wild was awake now, however tentatively. He blinked sluggishly, his fist still raised and seemed as if he were trying to parse out where he was. 

“Wild, it’s just me. Legend. You were having a nightmare, go to sleep.” He grumbled, the words coming out much less gentle than he intended. Wild sniffed, unsuccessfully trying to suck back in the mucus on his upper lip. His fist dropped, falling back to his blankets. With nothing more than a yawn, Wild slumped back down and fell back asleep, strings of greasy straw-colored hair sticking to his sweat-dampened cheeks. Legend sighed, pulling his hand away from his nose. He was honestly relieved it wasn’t bleeding. 

“I’m surprised he didn’t break your nose. Nearly snapped Sky’s wrist in two earlier.” Wind snarked. He had his arms crossed, a teasing smile playing on his lips. “Right, Four?” He asked, clearly looking for his fellow witness to back him up. 

However, instead of confirming what Wind had claimed, a long stretch of silence followed the question. Well, not complete silence, because Four was breathing rather heavily in the absence of voices. At some point he’d pulled the blanket back over his head to block out the light, but even from several feet away Legend could tell that the smith was trembling where he lay. Wind’s smile dropped, replaced swiftly with concern. 

“Four? You okay over there?” He asked, tentatively leaning closer to where Four was, as if he were being pulled in the direction but resisting. And Legend… was being pulled away, the uncertainty in and of itself making a coward out of him. But he was not a coward. He could help. He would show them that he could do it. 

This was a childish notion, something he should have gotten over years ago. But then again, his childhood had been full of dungeon puzzles and battles. 

He rose to his feet, taking slow steps towards Four, ignoring every fear instinct in his body that told him to turn his little cotton candy tail and run. There was a sharp intake of air from Four, as if he realized that Legend and Wind were still there. Then he muttered the smallest, shakiest, most unlike Four “‘mfine” Legend had ever heard. And Legend wasn’t going to let that slide. No, because that meant something was wrong, more than just the migraine. Wind looked like he wanted to stop Legend from approaching, but ultimately did nothing to halt him. So he kept going, finally crouching down next to Four to say something. 

What would Sky say? What would Time say? They’re so good at this. 

“You um… you don’t sound okay. Do you need water or… some food or something? Or maybe a cool cloth?” He asked. He kept his voice low, strung his words together carefully. He weaved them into a sentence gently, letting them fall off his tongue like silk. There was a moment where Legend wasn’t sure he was going to get a response. The silence hung like a bad smell in the air, overpowering and all-consuming. Then a single, barely controlled breath left Four’s lips. 

“Cloth. Please.” He whispered. A shudder wracked his small body, spurring on more concerningly shallow breathing. Legend swallowed, looking towards Wind in a silent request to get the cloth and water. It wasn’t that Legend didn’t want to get it himself, he just didn’t trust himself not to run from the situation. His head screamed at him, it tore at his resolve and the steadiness of his hands. It wore down his patience to a stump, but he clung with all his might to that little foothold, determined not to fall. Wind nodded and went to get the items, looking only mildly annoyed that he was being made to do it. 

Legend sat there, stubbornly refusing to give in to the primal voice screeching at him. 

You aren’t meant for this, who do you think you are? Just let Wind take over, he’d do better. 

He ignored the words, the truth. Maybe if he could ignore it then he could change it. 

“Do you… want me to scratch your back?” He asked, his own voice wobbling. It was agony waiting to do something, just sitting there in silence with his own thoughts. Four mumbled out a definitive “no” however, so Legend was left to do just that. 

Luckily it didn’t take long for Wind to come back with a freshly dampened cloth and the water bucket. Legend took it with a grateful nod, and turned back to Four, preparing what he was going to say beforehand. 

“Alright. I’m going to take the blanket off you so that you can put this on your face.” 

He began pulling the fabric away, and when he got no resistance, shifted it the rest of the way. Just as he had suspected, Four looked no better than earlier. If anything his pallor had only pushed further, leaning more and more towards a sickly seafoam color. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, but despite that he still flinched from the waning sunlight. Legend quietly placed the cloth on Four’s cheek, unsure of what else to say. The smith pawed at it, taking it from Legend’s hand and weakly moving it around his face. His breathing was still uneven, hands still shaking. Legend chewed the inside of his cheek, trying to figure out a way to make whatever this was better. But he didn’t know what this was, he’d never seen Four like this before. He had a couple guesses, but… it was still strange. 

“…is your migraine making you feel sick?” He asked hesitantly. 

As soon as he asked the question, Four stiffened. He stopped rubbing the cloth behind his ear instantaneously. And if Legend hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that the smith had turned green in that moment. Legend felt something in his stomach turn sour. This was not like Four at all. 

“…no” Four eventually squeaked. The wobble of his lower lip said otherwise. 

Legend was prepared to point out that blatant lie, but before he could even get a word out, Four did that for him. With a tight lurch, he heaved forwards. There was clearly an attempt to keep his lips sealed, but nothing could stop the cascade of stomach acid and what used to be vegetable soup from spewing forth onto the ground. After the initial round was over, any past resolve Four had dissolved as his body purged itself. He gasped for air between heaves. 

In that instant, something in Legend kicked into gear. He didn’t know what it was or where it came from, but all of the sudden he was hauling Four into an upright position, holding him up so that he wouldn’t choke on his own vomit. At the same time, his heart was beating against his chest so loud that he could hear it. It felt like someone was thumping against the inside of his ribcage. 

“Shit, shitshitshitshitshit—“ Wind cursed as he hurried over. He fluttered around Legend’s shoulder, clearly very concerned but unable to form a coherent thought. Four heaved in Legend’s arms, this time bringing up nothing but saliva. Then he did it again. And again. 

“Wind-“ Legend begged. Whatever had spurred him into this position was very swiftly wearing off, and now everything felt unnatural again. Wind stammered while he crouched down next to them. 

“H-Hey, Four, you’re okay. Just um…” he faltered, trailing off. With an unsure look to Legend, he huffed out a breath.
“Let’s move him away from it.” 

Legend nodded, grateful for any direction. After reorienting himself, he moved to lift Four, but the smithy flailed as soon as he began tightening his grip, slipping out of his grasp and staggering to his feet instead. He swayed, stumbling to the side. Wind was quick to make sure that he didn’t tip over entirely as he started chanting. 

“I’m okay, I’mokayI’mokayI’mokayI’mokay—“ he breathed, barely audible. 

“Yeah, you’re gonna be okay.” Wind said. “Take a few deep breaths, and we’ll get you some water, okay?” 

“—I’mokayI’mokayI’mokay—“ 

“Four?” Legend prompted, stepping closer. The smithy was barely intaking any breath as he continued muttering, words becoming strained as he ran out of air. Fat tears began to spill down his cheeks, running along the line of his jaw and glowing golden in the light of the sunset. Legend’s own chest tightened as he watched his brother gasp between sobs, the words dissolving. One of his hands was clutching his hair as he gagged, continuing to dry heave in the midst of his distress. Wind stood at a loss, eyes wide and unsure. 

“I-Is he having a panic attack or something?” Legend squeaked. All of those things he knew were true, all of his shortcomings, they were all coming to bite him. He couldn’t do this, he didn’t know how to do this. And neither did Wind. 

“I think so? Maybe? H-he said he got them when—“ Wind cut himself off, and shook his head. “Should we get Sky? He’ll know how to help.”
Without even considering the implications, Legend shook his head adamantly. 

“We don’t even know where he is, much less if we can reach him in time. We’ll just calm him down, it’ll be fine.” He answered, words coming fast and clipped. Wind bit his lip, unsure, but before he could protest Legend was speaking again. 

“Alright, Smith? Link? Let’s move to the other side of camp, that way you don’t have to smell it.” 

Though the only response he got was more shallow breaths and tears, Legend still took him by the shoulder and began to lead him away. They didn’t get far before Four simply crumpled to the ground and curled over himself. Neither Legend nor Wind could react fast enough to stop it. Wind gasped, making sure that Four didn’t hurt himself on the way down. Legend’s stomach curdled as he watched Four’s form blur and duplicate, colored borders blinking in and out of existence. 

“Ok, how about this, can you breathe with me? Like this?” Wind asked, desperately trying to get a hold of the situation. He drew long, exaggerated breaths, making sure they were audible. At first, it seemed that Four hadn’t even heard, but then he stammered: 

     “I c-c-c-ca-, I c-c-“ it was like there were multiples of his voice, all speaking at the same time. The disonant magic was palpable in the air as it spiraled out of control. Legend looked up at Wind, and the look they exchanged communicated that they both knew. If Four didn’t calm down soon, Four was going to split. Wind’s wide eyes and rising tone of voice shared more of Legend’s feelings than he cared to admit. 

     “Can we go get Sky now?” 

Chapter Text

     Sky inhaled the sweet scent of the wild berries he was holding. They were perfectly ripe, and would go excellently with some of Wild’s yogurt. Luxurious and creamy, tart pops of flavor… it was heaven in a bowl. His stomach ached for a proper meal, one full of flavors and aromas. Wild had really spoiled them all. Before the current adventure, Sky would have jumped at the opportunity to have the simplest of meals on the road. Now he dreamt of warm meals every night and waking up to breakfast cooking. Wild being down meant there was no competent cook, and Sky would be lying if he said he didn’t hope that Wild’s recovery was swift, if only so that they could have some good food again.

      Sky let the berries fall into his pouch, and looked around to pluck the last few off the bush. Hyrule whistled a happy tune while he picked mushrooms. The notes danced in the breeze with a kind of easiness that none of them had felt in quite a while. Compared to worrying over Wind’s illness, and then Wild’s, and then Four coming down with a migraine, simply foraging was a much needed release. Sky really did love them all, but after the dreary (and quite frankly depressing) atmosphere of Lorule and the stress of supply shortage, it was just getting to be a bit too much for even him. He could only hope that Legend was having good enough luck that he could handle things on his own for a little while longer.

      Sky straightened out his back and yawned, allowing a moment to soak in the dying light of the sunset. Maybe next he would search for apples…

     “Hey, Sky? Sky! SKY?!”

     Sky froze, feeling his blood turn to ice in his veins.  He was turning towards the voice before he even realized who it was. There, hidden by some trees and darting around frantically, was Legend. He kicked up trails of dust behind him as he sped on with his pegasus boots. He hadn’t seemed to spot Sky or the others yet, and the boots whirred back to life and he started running a different direction.

      Sky sprinted after him, taking a deep breath to bellow: “LEGEND!! OVER HERE!!”

     He waved his arms all around, trying to make himself as much of a target as he could. As soon as Sky had yelled, Legend ground to a halt and looked around for the source. When he finally turned to Sky and located him, Sky had just about reached him.

     Legend’s expression was distraught, worried brow and ears pinned back. He panted heavily after having ran all the way from camp, and once his eyes locked on to Sky they didn’t leave.

     “Sky! Thank Hylia— Listen, I don’t know what’s happening, but something’s going on with Four, his magic is way out of control and if someone doesn’t calm his ass down then—“ Legend cut himself off as his lungs ran out and he was forced to gulp in air. His hands shook as they were planted on his knees. Sky’s head reeled with the information, trying to make sense of what little he was told.

     “Slow down, Vet. I have no idea what you mean, you’ve gotta take a deep breath—“

     “Shut up! You have every idea what I mean.” He snapped, eyes blazing from where he was hunched over. Then a recognition seemed to come over him and he slumped again.

     “That… didn’t make sense. Never mind! Four got sick, and now he’s having a full blown panic attack and won’t listen to me or Wind, he’s going to split if we can’t calm him down.”

     Sky’s heart plummeted to his stomach.

     “Wait, you said he got sick, as in he vomited?” He questioned, placing his hands on Legend’s shoulders. Legend looked at Sky as if he had just suggested that they eat grass straight from the ground.

     “Yes!” He confirmed, exasperated “Did you miss the part about his magic going haywire?!”

     Sky’s stomach twisted into a hard knot, and he turned to Hyrule and Time. They had both been quietly watching, bewildered at the exchange. Sky wanted to explain, to reassure them, but he had no time.

     “I have to go back with him,” he said, already turning back towards camp. Time’s brow creased, casting dark shadows over his eyes.

     “Sky, what is all this about?” He challenged, voice firm and commanding. All those years of knight training almost overrode Sky’s mother hen senses, but he refused to quail under Time’s gaze.

     “It’s—um, I’ll see you later, be back by nightfall!” He chirped quickly, already jogging away. Hyrule stepped forwards, reaching out. His mouth opened to call out, but by that point, all Sky could hear was his own breathing and pounding heart.

=======

     Legend got there before Sky did. His pegasus boots combined with Sky’s sluggish gait made that almost a given. What Sky hadn’t been expecting however, or really wanting, was to hear a loud, distinctly Legend expletive to be shouted as soon as he stumbled into camp. And as Sky caught his breath, leaned up against a tree, he could see why. And he almost wished he hadn’t tried to run so fast. Because despite sprinting the entire way there, what he had feared still happened.

     Before him, scattered about camp, were four copies of the Smith, in various levels of disarray. Upon Sky’s arrival, Wind stood up from where he was crouched next to Violet. His eyes shone and his cheeks were burning, but from more than just fever. His lower lip quivered as he fought to keep himself together.

     “I-I’m sorry, it happened so quickly, I couldn’t do anything to help.” He explained, sniffling fiercely. Sky opened his mouth to console Wind and assure him that it would be alright, but before he could get a sound out something rammed into his stomach at full force, folding him in half and knocking the wind from his lungs. He nearly staggered back and landed on his backside, but the hearty trunk of an oak halted the fall. He looked down to see a pair of ruby red eyes sparkling up at him, face crinkled with distress and tears pouring down his cheeks. Red wailed, burying his face into Sky’s chest.

     “I—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean tooooo! Blue was so scared and—and we couldn’t bre— couldn’t breathe, he won’t listen to me or Green now— hic-- and Vio is mad that I made us split but it wasn’t my fault and—and they won’t listeeeeeeeeen!”

     Sky instantly dropped to his knees, softening his posture as he brought Red closer and wrapped him in a loose embrace. Red continued to sniffle and sob, making a damp spot on Sky’s tunic that he knew he would probably have to wash out later.

     “Hey, Red, easy there, it’s alright. Shh.” Sky soothed, rubbing little circles on his back. He tried to transfer some of his warmth to Red, who was trembling as he cried.

     “I’m sniff I’m so tired.” He whined. Sky shushed him, keeping his tone gentle.

     “I know you are, Red. You all have been under a lot of stress.” He whispered, doing his best to keep calm. Red just broke down further in Sky’s arms, finally releasing all the emotion that Four hadn’t been able to express. He pulled Sky down with him, and before he knew it Red was firmly nestled in Sky’s lap, with a death grip on his tunic, and no plans to let go anytime soon. Sky sighed, his breath shaky on the exhale. Alright, he would just have to defuse the situation from there.

     Wind stood several feet away, awkwardly picking at the hem of his sleeve. Sky gave him what was supposed to be a comforting smile, and motioned him to come closer with a nod of his head. Wind shuffled over, shoulders still tense and ears still pinned back. Sky forced himself to take a deep breath, delighted when Wind seemed to follow along out of pure instinct.

     “How are the others?” Sky asked quietly. Wind swallowed, clearing his throat before he responded, his voice raspy and scratched both from illness and distress.

     “Vio still has a migraine, and Blue is still nauseous I think but he won’t let me go near him. Green tried too but Blue just started yelling and made Red cry. He…” tears welled up in his eyes, barely held back. Sky let his face fall into a frown. Both concern and protective fire bloomed in Sky’s chest, itching to take action.

     “What did he say?” He asked carefully. Wind sniffled, standing up a little straighter.

     “He just um… h-he said it was my fault that all this was happening, and… and he’s not wrong, I know it’s my fault it just…--“

     “Wind, what in Hylia’s name are you talking about?” Legend barked. “This isn’t your fault, you got sick, no one can control that. If anything Four’s been the one being all secretive and shit, and endangering everyone else in the process. Don’t you dare think for a second it’s your fault—“

     “It’s not Four’s either!” Wind argued, his voice turning shrill as he fought to overpower Legend. The vet wrinkled up his nose, outraged at the idea.

     “It absolutely is—“

     Legend was cut off abruptly by another voice entering the mix. It was Vio, somehow carrying his cadence across the camp despite being firmly curled up in the fetal position.

“Both of you, shut up .” He groaned. Legend snapped his jaw shut, and Wind grimaced.

     “Sorry, Vio.” He said softly.

      Sky sighed, thankful that he didn’t have to step in. Red scrambled up out of Sky’s lap and latched onto Wind instead, wrapping him in a hug and looking up through still-weepy eyes.

     “Bl-Blue didn’t mean it, we don’t really think that! He’s just scared and doesn’t know what to do.” He defended. Wind awkwardly returned Red’s hug, biting his lip so that his tears wouldn’t fall. Legend rolled his eyes.

     “What do you mean he’s scared ? I mean yeah this sucks, but these things happen! It’s nothing out of the ordinary!” He challenged, voice raising as he spoke. That got him a death glare from Vio. Red froze up at the accusation, clinging to Wind with all his might and quietly sobbing into his shoulder.

      “Oh, so you’re just gonna shut down instead of addressing the issue, I see.” Legend sneered, crossing his arms. Wind tensed, looking as if he were about to start arguing again. Sky fought to get to his feet and in between them, before their voices rose again.

       “Please!” He begged, cutting both of them off. “We can talk about this later. For now the important thing is that we figure this out. Wind, sit with Red. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re still not well. Legend, try and clean up the mess before the rest of the Chain gets here. I’ll talk to Blue.”

     Legend reeled back, nose wrinkling up in a show of disgust.

     “Why do I have to clean it up??”

     “Because I don’t trust you to talk to the colors.” Sky responded flatly. He hadn’t been expecting the small amount of frustration to leak into his tone or words, but it did. And for once, he did not instantly get a sense of regret. He had had just about enough of Legend’s accusations, complaining, and emotional immaturity. Legend himself startled a little, like a remlit being caught digging in a pumpkin patch. But, much like a remit, he bristled up and stomped off to complete his given task. Sky looked over to Wind, and noted with relief that he was trying to guide Red to sit down in a dark, (semi)quiet corner to calm down.

     So the only thing that was left… was to address the very large, very blue elephant in the room. Green was helping Vio to get more comfortable after the split, so that left only Sky to try and talk to Blue. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to where the color was curled up, rocking back and forth, as far away from the sick-zone as possible.

       With each step he took, he prepared for the worst. With each gentle grating sound that his boot made against the ground, a different insult ran through Sky’s mind. Blue was known to be volatile, and knew how to make words hurt. Well, at least Four did. But it was reasonable to assume that it came from Blue. So Sky was ready, for whatever Blue threw at him. After all, he’d endured the entirety of Groose’s younger years.

     When he quietly crouched down next to Blue, eventually sitting next to him, he expected hot, stinging words, screaming, obscenities. But he hadn’t been expecting near silence. For the first couple of seconds, all that Blue did was sit there and shake, hyperventilating as he stared at the ground. His eyes were glazed over with a sheen of pure, animalistic panic, complexion so pale it reminded Sky of the cloud barrier. Every few breaths, he would close his mouth to swallow: compulsive, frequent, and a clear sign of nausea. It was after one of these that Blue finally coerced his tongue into forming words.

    “ Back off. ”

     It was weak, broken, reeking of shattered resolve. Sky couldn’t help but ache in sympathy. This was not the Blue that he knew, the hog-headed hotshot that didn’t take no for an answer. This was the weary, terrified Blue that was finally cracking under the pressure of a fear he couldn’t control. Sky had been there, he knew the state well. He’d experienced it himself, watched many of his friends reach that point. But it was different for every person. Ever more so for a mere fraction of a whole soul.

     “Is that what you really want?” Sky asked quietly. It was genuine, and he hoped Blue knew that. It would do no good to try and force his way into a conversation that Blue wasn’t ready to have. The long silence that followed, the hesitation, was enough of an answer for Sky, however. So he took a breath, and opened his mouth to speak again: unprovoking, open, and understanding.

      “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” He asked, doing his best to channel some calm energy to Blue. The color snapped at him, a response flying from his mouth before Sky could even prepare for one.

      “Whaddyou think dumbass? We th-thr—th— we got sick, and I made us split, and I still feel like—like it and it’s a thousand times worse now—but you know that so why’d you even ask?” he barked. He still kept his eyes fixed on a spot on the ground, and as he spoke his rocking increased, his arms clutching his knees tighter. Sky couldn’t help but smile a little, though he tried to keep it out of view. At least Blue wasn’t entirely gone. There was still a little fire blazing in him, fueling his sharp words. And that gave Sky hope.

      “Of course I know that.” Sky admitted. “But that’s not what I was asking. I meant : How do you feel about all of it?”

      The pause that followed after that question was much longer than the first. Blue’s rocking slowed as he formulated an answer, though he still breathed shakily. Sky waited, trying not to put too much pressure on him with his expression or body language. Eventually, he got a response. It was barely audible, coated in shame and fear.
“I just don’t want it to happen again.”

      Sky nodded, accepting the answer as the most he was going to get.

     “I understand that. What usually helps? I can get you a cool cloth to rub on your face or tea—“

     “I don’t need your charity , Feathers.” Blue interrupted, biting the words out.

     “I know, but I want to help. So would the cloth help?” Sky pushed, mentally nudging Blue into accepting. A few moments later, he took the bait with a little nod. Sky got up without acknowledgement, without fanfare, and went to their bucket of water to wet a washrag. As he wrung out the fabric, squeezing excess water out of the fibers, he craned his ear to listen to the other colors.

     “I don’t understand why we can’t stay split—you know merging like this is going to render us useless and worse than before.” Green asked with a frustrated tap of his boot. Vio groaned quietly, trying to push his headache aside for a moment to properly explain.

     “Because there’s still a chance that no one has to know about this. If we merge, they’ll just assume our migraine got worse. If we stay split, they’ll know something happened because migraines have never made us split before.” He rasped. Green narrowed his eyes skeptically, unsure if the reason was sound enough. Vio must have sensed the suspicion, because he sighed and added: “Plus, the more of us there are, the harder it is on Sky.”

     That got Green’s attention. He rolled over the argument in his mind, ears falling as he realized the truth behind Vio’s words. With a sigh, he kicked at the ground.

     “Fine. I guess you’re right. I’ll… go talk to Red.” He muttered, moving over to Wind and Red. The two had seemingly calmed down, and were sitting and quietly talking about something or other that Sky hadn’t bothered to listen in on.

     So I just need to convince Blue to merge with the others. Easy enough.

     It was with more confidence this time around that Sky approached Blue, sitting and handing him the cool, damp cloth.

     “Here. I always find putting it behind my ears and on the back of my neck helps. Unless you want me to do it?”

      Blue snatched it out of Sky’s hands at the last statement, making Sky startle a little with the ferocity of the action.

     “I can do it myself, Birdbrain.” He snarled. Sky sat there, empty hand still in the air where he had been extending the cloth, and watched Blue methodically drape the fabric over the back of his neck, pressing it against his cheeks. His hands shook violently, and his breathing still hitched, but with every passing moment he seemed to be calming down a small bit. Sky fought the urge to sigh with relief.

     “Do you want me to make tea or just stay here?” He asked quietly. Blue pressed the cloth to his eyes, whether to hide his face or ease pressure there, Sky wasn’t sure. After a few seconds he replied.

     “I don’t need the tea. It’s… fading now.”

     Sky smiled, heart warming with hope. There wasn’t much that he truly felt he had a natural talent for, but helping others was one of them. He knew that he was good at it, it was something that he had always known.

     So why did I think leaving Legend as a placeholder was a good idea?

     Sky shook his head, trying not to let the negative thought take hold. He would just have to be more careful in the future. More careful in watching the sick, keeping track of needs, never leaving their side.

     More careful not to let things fall apart when he was the only thing keeping them together. Both literally and figuratively.

     “Good. I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Sky said easily. He leaned back on the heels of his palms, wincing as the muscles in his chest twinged in irritation. Maybe all that running hadn’t been the best idea.

     “I think that the other colors want to merge when you’re ready. The others will ask questions if you’re split when they come back.” He said. Blue huffed, letting some of the tension leak from his shoulders.

     “Yeah. And no way am I making this worse than it already is.” He mumbled. The wash rag fell into his lap as his fingers went lax around it, and he finally looked Sky in the eye. There was some color back to his cheeks, though not much, and he was still shaking, but it was miles better than minutes ago.

     “Thanks. Or whatever. I dunno, Red’s the one who does the mushy stuff.” Blue grumbled, averting his gaze as soon as he started talking. Sky couldn’t help but laugh a little despite himself.

     “Oh, you’re a big softie aren’t ya?” He teased, making sure to keep it gentle. Blue’s cheeks blazed.

     “Am not!” He countered. “I was just—um—“

     “Blue?” Called a quiet voice. Both Sky and Blue looked up at the same time to greet Green standing over them, carrying four identical copies of the Four Sword. His shoulders were slumped, downcast expression seeping dread of what had to be done.

     “Vio and Red want to merge. Do you feel well enough to?” He asked carefully. Blue stood up, not-so-subtly planting his feet hard to keep balance.

     “Yeah. I guess.” He grunted. Green smiled a little, and motioned for Vio and Red to join them. Red helped Vio to his feet and led him over, practically carrying the ailing color. Green passed out their respective swords, making sure that Vio had a decent grip on his. Sky watched in fascination as the tips of all four blades met, and waves of magic rippled from the center. With each pulse, the colors dissolved further, rendered to nothing more than monochromatic shadows first and then disappearing entirely. What the magic left was a pale, shivering Four loosely holding onto his sword and swaying on his feet.
Sky had barely enough time to catch him before he collapsed.

Chapter Text

     Sky nearly fell over himself breaking Four’s fall. Catching his brother with the added obstacle of avoiding getting his toes cut off by the Four Sword falling to the ground was harder than it seemed. But Sky managed to keep upright, maybe with a little help from Legend. Four groaned in his arms, body completely lax but still somehow conscious. 

     “You’re alright, Four. I’ve got you.” Sky breathed, trying to reorient himself so that he could properly pick Four up. After a good few seconds of his trying and failing, Legend waved Sky off and lifted the Smith bridal style over to his bedroll. For someone usually so explosive, Legend was being rather quiet through this whole ordeal. Sky would have thought it concerning, except for the thoughtful gaze boring into everything he focused on, the way he erased every trace of sick in the camp, even going so far as to wash out the cleaning supplies he had used. 

     Something snapped to clarity in Sky as he watched Legend drape a blanket over Four and walk over to the fire to sit. Legend wasn’t angry. He wasn’t trying to be controlling for his own sake. He was worried. And he didn’t know how to help someone who wouldn’t tell him what was wrong. 

     More than likely, Sky thought, he’s angry at himself for not being able to help.  

     That was why he had volunteered so readily. 

     Though Sky’s heart twisted with sympathy, he knew that it didn’t change anything Legend had done. It couldn’t reverse the harsh words or interrogations. It couldn’t erase the damage. But it was an explanation, jumping-off point for future discussions or understanding of what was going on. And honestly? Sky would take what he could get at that point. 

     While Legend got Four settled, Wind pulled a blanket over he and Wild. Wild had managed to sleep through all the commotion, but his cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were red and puffy. He must have been having nightmares again. Wind himself wasn’t looking much better, eyes glazed over as the exhaustion of the chaos took over, and fever-flush more prominent than before. 

     Sky moved towards them, just to check on them. After that ordeal, Sky wouldn’t be surprised if Wind’s fever had spiked again, and he wanted to make sure that it hadn’t gotten dangerous at all. But before Sky could reach them, he ran into an obstacle. That obstacle being: Legend’s arm. 

     Sky looked to the hylian attached to the arm with slight surprise. The expression on Legend’s face was severe, set in stone. The Vet had a mission, and he was going to accomplish it this time. It was the same expression he wore before battle. 

     “You’re not getting off easy this time.” He growled. Sky swallowed back his anxiety. Maybe he could still deflect? 

     “What do you—“ 

     “You know damn well what I mean.” Legend snarled, stepping closer to Sky to tower over him. “And I’m not going to take no for an answer, because this?” He gestured to Four, curled up on the ground, fast asleep “Is not normal. By any standard. I want to know what’s going on with him and you’re going to tell me. Either that or I can let everyone know what went down when they get back.” 

     Sky felt his eyes widen. Both out of surprise that Legend still hadn’t fit the puzzle pieces together yet and out of fear of what would happen should Legend tell everyone what had happened. He was going to have to do something, either way. And well… one person knowing was better than all of them knowing. 

     “…alright.” Sky relented. His form slumped without his consent, knowing that all the effort he had put into keeping this secret was going to waste. 

     “Come on.” He said, gesturing to the fire pit where they could sit. Legend straightened, standing taller now that he had won. He sat down across the fire from Sky, looking through the dying flames at the answer to all his questions. And he waited. 

     Sky allowed himself to gather his words. He carefully chose them, the least inflammatory ones possible. Straight facts, with a little bit of sugarcoating. Not quite as cold as Fi had been, but he could channel her a small bit. 

     He took a deep breath, and tried to release some tension in his back. Legend sat patiently, hands clasped in his lap. Sky couldn’t tell if he was really ready to listen or not. But it didn’t matter, there was no choice. 

     “I’m sure you have noticed Four acting… um…” and just like that, Sky’s words failed him. They left his mind completely mid-sentence, and he fumbled to find the term he was searching for. 

     “Like a germaphobic cuckoo?” Legend deadpanned. 

     “Well uh… yeah. Anyways… he has a very severe fear of vomiting.” 

     Sky watched realization cross Legend’s expression, plain as day. Sky continued. 

     “It isn’t just an aversion. He’ll have panic attacks, limit the food he eats, and avoid anyone who has gotten sick. He knows that it’s irrational, but… in his words, ‘it’s like his body won’t listen to him’.” 

     Legend hunched over on himself, thoughtfully observing the ground as he bit his knuckle. Sky waited for an angry response, a challenge. But none came, only a careful question. 

     “But one of us throws up every other week at least. How has he dealt with it all this time?” 

     “He’s very good at hiding it. The only reason I know is because he didn’t know that flying gives him motion sickness.” 

      “Why does Wind know?” 

     “That… I’m not sure of. That’s between them.” Sky admitted. Legend nodded. He was methodically calm, seemingly just listening and gathering information. But Sky could see the way he was gripping his sleeve, the fire reflecting in his fierce eyes, and the hurt in the way he held his shoulders. Sky waited, and watched, half expected Legend to just get up and walk away at one point. But eventually he sucked in a breath, looked up at Sky, and asked one more question. 

      “Why in Hylia’s name wouldn’t he tell anyone?” This time the words were laced with barely controlled emotion, of which Sky couldn’t place. Possibly anger, maybe hurt or fear. Maybe all three. 

      “I think he’s had bad experiences in the past—“ 

     “That’s not an excuse!” Legend barked, finally snapping. “He’s been endangering all of us by refusing to explain himself. He’s endangered Wind by avoiding him, he’s burdened you and Wind with the sole knowledge of this secret that you have to keep. And all when we could have known and been able to help by now. It is ridiculous that you defended this ‘secret’—“ he emphasized the words with air quotes as his voice rose. “When it was just some stupid fear that isn’t a big deal. I mean no one likes throwing up, he’s not special. It isn’t even something to be hidden!” 

     As Legend kept talking, Sky’s resolve broke. Not his resolve to help, or his resolve to stand up for what was right. His resolve to continue this conversation in a civil manner died with Legend’s disregard of that effort. 

     “Do you want to know why he didn’t tell anyone? Do you really?” He challenged. Legend blinked, seeming to momentarily startle at Sky’s severity. But he didn’t skip a beat in shooting back. 

      “Yeah! I do!” 

     “He didn’t tell anyone because he knew people would react like this. They would judge, accuse, and invalidate his experiences. Because he knows better than most of us that what tends to happen is people lead with what their surface level observations can tell them. And seeing as you couldn’t even put together what was going on when it was literally right in front of your face, I think I can tell how deeply you’re looking into this.” Sky spat. Legend bristled.
“So I don’t blame him for wanting to keep it a secret. Especially when it’s from people like you who are too selfish and emotionally stunted to even try and see it from his perspective before making snap judgements.” He finished. By the end, his chest was heaving, hot breaths puffing from his lungs. The fires of Eldin ran through his veins, smoke coming off of him in waves. It was almost refreshing to feel an anger this strong, it was a rush of adrenaline like jumping off of the diving platform early in the morning. 

      Legend sat there in silence and shock. Whether it was from Sky’s words or the fact that he was actually, truly angry, Sky couldn’t tell. Either way, he thought maybe it was a good thing. Good that he knows that he can’t bully his way into and out of everything. Sky corrected. 

      He wasn’t sure exactly what he was expecting. At that point, he could barely digest the present, much less predict the future. So when Legend abruptly stood up without a word and stomped off, Sky didn’t react. Legend disappeared into the trees, surrounded by a whirlwind of anger and hurt. 

     The silence was nice, after the first few moments. It reminded Sky of peace and clarity, two things that seemed very far away at the present time. He sat at the fire and did counted breaths. He tried to slow his heart down from the high of the argument, slowly reeling the mad pitter-patter back to thumps against his chest. He felt the heat recede from his cheeks, his muscles relax, listened to the birds chirping again. As all the fiery emotion drained from his being his mind went numb, subdued and sluggish. 

     In the moment, calling Legend out had felt good. Righteous, vindictive. But now, Sky wasn’t sure if that had been the right thing to do. After all, Legend was still angry and likely to hurt Four. 

     What a brother Sky was, huh? Causing all of this conflict. 

     I’ll just have to try harder. 

     Sky sniffed and looked up, wincing at the pressure in his skull lingering from the yelling match. He was thankful that the other three were heavy sleepers, or at least were when they weren’t feeling well. 

     The game. It hadn’t been stored yet. The boar, bird, and net of fish still lay out in twilight. It would be a bad look if Sky hadn’t at least put it in the slate. He stood mechanically and grabbed the slate, tapping around for a few minutes before finding what he was looking for. 

     The task was complete in a few minutes, leaving him with no distractions other than the dying fire. He rekindled it and added wood. The others should be back soon. Maybe he would start dinner. They would surely all be hungry after such a long day. Night and day? Sky couldn’t remember how long he’d been awake. To be quite honest he couldn’t even remember when he’d eaten last. So much had happened since then. 

     What to make… the ingredients in the slate were still limited. He had plenty of fish… maybe just some simple fish over rice? No rice. Fish and vegetables without the rice. They would have to find rice in the next town they visited. If they could ever travel that far with so many of them sick. 

     As Sky got out the ingredients and started cutting them, his mind wandered to the dark shadows hanging behind the trees. They crept up on his consciousness, whispering. 

     How long would this go on? 

     How many more would fall ill? 

     Would anyone suffer from their vulnerability?

     Probably. 

     Sky usually tried to stay positive, focus on the silver lining. He’d had to, faced with the threat of the death of his world every day during his adventure. But sitting there, mindlessly cooking, he couldn’t help but let those negative thoughts creep in to his weary mind. 

     The other Links began trickling back. He greeted them with an empty smile and “dinner is almost ready”. He hoped they didn’t see that his smile wouldn’t go past his mouth, no matter how hard he tried. Someone had a short conversation with him at some point. He couldn’t remember who it was or what it was about. Maybe a funny story he forgot to laugh hard enough at. 

      Wind woke up soon after the rest of the chain arrived, talking with everyone about their days. Sky had to remind him gently several times to stay seated and resting, he still wasn’t quite recovered. Wild stayed firmly asleep, a true abnormality considering how little he slept on a regular basis. Four was also awake, if the way he was tossing and turning was any indication. Sky noticed that he had his hands clamped over his ears. Maybe the noise was bothering him? 

     Legend had earplugs. But Legend had also been purposefully ignoring Sky ever since his return. The chance of him actually letting Four borrow some were slim. So Sky kept his head down, and just stirred around his veggies. They were getting pretty dark but… surely they couldn’t be cooked yet, he had just thrown them in the pot! Just a few more minutes to be sure. 

     “Hey, Sky…” 

     Sky looked up from his languid stirring and forced a little smile. Hyrule gave him a little wave and sat next to him by the fire. 

     “So… how is everyone doing?” He asked. It was clear there was an attempt to make it sound casual, but it was a thin veil for the worry behind his words. Sky shrugged, giving the vegetables a last turn before spooning them into a large bowl to make way for the fish. 

    “Better, I think. Four’s pretty messed up, and Wild’s fever is still higher than I’d like it to be, but it could be worse.” He admitted. Hyrule nodded, biting his lip. 

     “What… did happen with Four? Legend looked pretty frantic earlier.” 

     Sky paused, trying to string together an explanation that was both satisfying and vague. There was a significant part of him that just wanted to give up with the secret. To tell anyone who wanted to know, and be done with it. Maybe Legend had been right. It was just causing more problems than it was worth to keep it hidden. But if Sky told everyone, he would lose Four’s trust, and he knew for a fact that some members of the chain, notably Warriors, would not be as kind as he or Wind had been. Legend was just confirming that fact. Sky saw the dirty looks, the thoughtful staring that Legend sent Four’s way. 

     “Oh it um… he was just struggling more than usual. Legend wasn’t sure how to help.” Sky explained. He knew how ridiculous it sounded, it was thin, incomplete. He half expected Hyrule to question further, but he just hummed quietly, pinning Four down with a worried look. After a moment, he stood, walking over to where Four was laying. Sky jolted upright, opening his mouth before Hyrule could get there. 

     “Rulie, I don’t think he wants to talk to anyone right now.” He warned. Hyrule rolled his eyes playfully, giving Sky a little smile. 

     “I just want to offer him tea. I have some that I think will help.” 

     Before Sky could stop him, Hyrule was crouched down next to Four, and speaking softly to him. 

     “Hey, Four. I’m sorry you’re feeling so bad. I think I have some tea that might help. Want me to make some for you?” He asked. Sky’s breath caught in his throat as the responding silence stretched on. Four instead just grabbed at his ears harder. He was curled away from Hyrule, but Sky could just barely glimpse his face, eyes screwed tightly shut and skin devoid of color. Hyrule frowned after a few seconds, concern plain as day in his expression. He reached out with a gentle hand to get Four’s attention, gently moving to place it on the smith’s shoulder. 

     “Hey… what’s going on? You’re acting st— AGH!” Hyrule was thrown onto his back faster than Sky could comprehend what had happened. Every head turned towards the outcry, someone rushed over to help Hyrule back up. Four’s elbow hung in a stasis in the air, frozen as  what he had just done sunk in. Sky leapt to his feet before the others descended upon the situation. 

     “Four, what the hell?!” Warriors shouted. He had Hyrule propped up on his arms, still dazed from the hit. A sluggish stream of blood trickled from one of his nostrils, bruises already forming. Sky tried to step between the small crowd and where Four was still reeling, scrambling to his feet. But both Twilight and Time were blocking Sky’s way in, the conflict steamrolling Sky’s attempt at diffusion. 

     “I’m sorry, sorry—“ came a breathy apology as Four struggled to get upright. 

     “Explain yourself.” Time demanded, and Twilight chimed in not long after. 

     “What would ya go and do that for? He weren’t doin’ nothin’ wrong.” 

     Four stepped backwards, wobbling as he got his balance. 

     “I—I—I’m sorry, I just, I’ll be b-back later, sorry—“ he squeaked. Though Sky couldn’t see well through the bodies, he definitely heard the tension in Four’s voice, the held-back tears. Then more shuffling, and— 

     “Wait, Four, where are you— FOUR!” Hyrule shouted, voice thick from the blood pouring out of his nose. Sky squeezed past just in time to see a blur of colors disappear into the trees. 

     Shit. Sky thought. He didn’t curse often, but he was pretty sure this called for it. 

     Hyrule shot up, ignoring the fact that his nose was turning black and blue. He would have bolted after Four if not for Warriors holding him back. Twilight’s shoulders bunched up like hackles, and he moved to march after the Smith. Sky stood in front of him, standing on his tip-toes to try and overpower the rancher. Twilight’s protective side was showing, and they all knew from experience that it wasn’t pretty. 

     “Guys! Wait, just hang on a moment, I think he needs some time—“ Sky protested. Time was looking like he wanted to follow too. 

     “What is going on?” He snapped at Sky. Warriors hopped in, still wrestling Hyrule back. 

     “He has never attacked one of us before, what is the meaning of this?”  

     Sky swallowed, trying to come up with something. 

     “He, uh, he’s in a lot of pain, he’s not thinking straight!—“ 

     “Oh stuff it, Sky. It’s not worth it anymore.” Legend barked. Sky’s stomach sank, and he knew that the dread was clear on his face as Legend kept talking. “Four split earlier because he had a panic attack, that’s why he’s acting so weird. He’s still trying to recover.” He explained. “Now he is going to be reimbursed for hurting Hyrule, but it will wait until he can properly—“ 

     “A panic attack? Why though? What happened to cause it?” Hyrule asked. He was mopping up his nose with his sleeve, soaking it through with blood. Warriors still had a fist clutching the back of Hyrule’s tunic, but Hyrule had stopped fighting once Legend had spilled the explanation. 

     “Four is level-headed. Something must have really gotten to him for him to split unintentionally.” Time rumbled. Legend crossed his arms, leaning on one hip. Like he’d won. 

     “Yeah, Sky, why did he have one?” 

      Sky stood, with the gaze of five of his brothers boring into his very soul. If he didn’t give them an answer, Legend would. Without question. He took a deep breath. 

      “Alright. I’ll… tell you over dinner.” He relented. Legend smirked, actually smiled. He had been right. He had been right about keeping the secret to this degree. Sky just hoped that he understood that he was putting Four’s trust in him on the line.

Chapter Text

     Sky inhaled deeply, letting the scent of seared trout and aroma of mushrooms and carrots fully encompass his senses. It smelled amazing, if he was being honest. It had been so long since they had had a proper meal, clearly seen by how excitedly the rest of them were digging in. Well, some of them. Wind picked at his food, eating slowly and quietly. Legend was eating, but did not take his eyes off of Sky even once. He was waiting, hungry anticipation in his eyes. He wanted to see Sky crash and burn. Time was watching too, waiting for the explanation. 

     There was none of the usual chatter, just relative silence as they all waited for answers. And Sky had to give it to them. He had to break his promise, he had to admit that he had been foolish in allowing himself a break, he had to tell them all that he had failed in the one thing that he could do above all else. 

     Remember Link, he reminded himself The important thing is that you learn from the experience. You have to be there. Always. 

     So he hadn’t even taken his first bite. His stomach was too tight and hands too shaky. The moments went on, punctuated by the scraping of forks against dishware. Eventually even that sound stopped as impatience grew. Sky swallowed, tried to prepare his words. He could just tell them what he had told Legend? But… that hadn’t seemed to go over very well. 

     Eyes bored into him, urging him to speak. He had to just start. 

     “Um… okay so Four… didn’t want me to say anything. It um… it’s not something that he really… talks about. But… h-well he has this um…” Sky stumbled. He rubbed his fingers across the rim of his bowl as his words refused to cooperate. He didn’t dare look at any of them, not with the rotten thoughts running through his head. Thoughts of shame and fear and inadequacy. 

     “Four has a phobia of vomiting. There. It wasn’t that hard, now was it?” Legend snapped. The words came so easily from his mouth. Sky would have been jealous had it not been Legend. 

     Time tilted his head, Hyrule and Twilight wore similar expressions of confusion. Sky watched Warriors’ expression go sour. 

     “What’s a phobia?” Wild asked through his raspy, congested voice. He had finally fully woken and was now sitting next to Twilight wrapped in copious blankets. Of course he awoke just in time to hear. 

     Most of the chain looked to Legend for an answer to Wild’s question, including Sky. Legend sighed, rolling his eyes. 

     “It’s a severe, irrational fear of something. Like Wind’s fear of birds. Phobias make people do crazy things sometimes, and it’s not usually something that they can just overcome. In Four’s case, he becomes totally despondent and unreasonable.” He bit out, stabbing into a chunk of carrot with a little more force than was necessary. Sky straightened out, especially after he saw Warriors shake his head and Wind shrink. 

     “No, it does not mean that be becomes despondent and unreasonable. It means that he’s more careful to not expose himself to those infected than others. It means he’s hyperaware of food safety, and it means that if he starts feeling sick or is near someone else that gets sick, it makes him very anxious.” Sky corrected. Legend glowered at him, clutching his fork with his entire fist. 

     Hyrule blinked, and a light of recognition came to his eyes. 

     “Oh! That makes so much sense now.” He exclaimed. “The other night when he woke me up for my night shift, he seemed really out of it and panicky. He said Wind had thrown up, I bet that’s why.” 

  The information rolled around in Sky’s mind, he hadn’t even known about that. He’d been asleep. How could he have not known about that? 

     Sky nodded. “Yeah, it probably is.” 

     Wild yawned from his place next to Twilight. “So… is this why he w’s always really… watchin’ really close when I cooked?” He asked. Sky gave a hesitant nod. This was the part that he was really afraid of revealing, but it would eventually be found out anyway.

     “Yes. Sometimes… sometimes eating is a bit… tricky. Especially if he doesn’t know how or by whom it was prepared. Or if he’s afraid of getting sick.” Sky said quietly. He tried to use gentle words, but there really was no gentle way of putting it. Legend ate angrily, pointedly refusing to look up or acknowledge the words. Twilight just looked slightly concerned, and also kept glancing towards Wind for a reason that Sky couldn’t parse out. Wind himself seemed more and more uncomfortable as the conversation went on. He was just staring at his food, hadn’t even picked up his fork in a while. 

     Warriors scoffed, his arms crossed and chin held high. 

     “Well he’s going to have to get over it one way or another. He can’t just run away every time someone throws up and refuse to eat because he’s scared of it. That’s ridiculous!” He protested. Wind promptly stood up next to him and set his plate down. When every head turned towards him, he stammered to explain himself. 

     “I’m—I’m going to go check on Fo-Four, he shouldn’t be alone out there.” 

     Warriors narrowed his eyes, bristling as yet another one of his younger brothers went rogue. 

     “You’ve barely even touched your food.” He growled. “Shouldn’t you finish eating before you go? Someone else can—“ 

     “I’ll eat when we get back.” 

     And just like that, they all watched as Wind turned his back on the Captain and walked away. Robotically, like it physically hurt to defy him. 

     Sky’s stomach turned and his heart started to beat faster. It was all falling apart. The chain was falling apart. All because Sky couldn’t communicate well enough to diffuse the flames kindled between them. Four would be a target, watched like a hawk. Legend was angry with both Four and Sky for keeping secrets. Warriors was going to try and “fix” Four because he knew more than anyone that things like this were weakness. And Wind, though Sky hadn’t quite seen it before, had been hiding more than just his illness. It was all falling apart. And it was all Sky’s fault. 

     “Why did he not tell anyone about this?” Time asked, ignoring Warriors’ comment and trying to take attention off of Wind. Legend pounced on the opportunity. Before Sky could even open his mouth Legend was talking. 

     “Y’know Time, that’s an excellent question. I’ve been wondering that too, because it seems to be a rather silly thing to keep hidden—“ 

     “Legend!” Sky snapped. Everything went silent. Not only Legend but everyone turned to look at him. 

     “He didn’t tell anyone because he was afraid of others judging him. And up until this point, it hadn’t caused much of an issue. So there was no harm in keeping the secret. I have known for a while, but I have respected his wishes and not said anything. Until now.” 

     Nothing more was said for several beats. No words were added, but Sky could see them, the thoughts, displayed across all of their faces. He dreaded the effects of what he had just revealed. And he watched, for maybe even an inkling of a hint of what was to come. 

     Hyrule and Twilight were both concerned, if not a little confused. Time was carefully even, betraying nothing of his thoughts. Wild had fallen asleep again, but that was to be expected. And Warriors and Legend? Well they were both furious. Legend, because he hadn’t been trusted. And Warriors, because in his mind people, especially heroes, weren’t supposed to get away with having fears and weaknesses like that. It caused issues and rifts. And Sky knew that. He really did. But he also knew that fear was a different beast. It wasn’t a medical issue. And Warriors couldn’t control it. 

     Time cleared his throat. 

     “Thank you, Sky. I think it’s time for bed now. Captain, Twilight, and Hyrule are all on watch. Divide it however you wish. No one is to speak about this to Four until he is ready. And Sky, I trust that you will let him know that we know.” 

     Sky nodded. No objections were presented. 

     Sky set down his untouched bowl of food and stood up. 

     “I’m going to make sure the other two are alright. They need to come back soon.”

Chapter Text

       It did not take long to find where Four and Wind were hunkered down. Turns out, when you have a migraine that’s trying split your skull open, it’s hard to run anywhere. It was a little spot just out of earshot of camp, surrounded by stumps and lots of colorful mushrooms that definitely looked inedible. As Sky approached he tried to tread lightly as to not scare them. 

        Wind was leaned up against one of the massive tree stumps, quietly stroking through Four’s hair. The smith was finally breathing steadily, peacefully dozing on Wind’s leg. He still looked terrible, but at least he was asleep. Sky had to tap on Wind’s shoulder before he noticed him. 

       Wind jumped a little, abruptly turning his head to Sky. After he saw that there was no danger, he relaxed again. 

       “Oh, it’s just you.” He muttered. His voice was broken and whispery. There was no foundation behind it. Sky sighed in sympathy and began scratching the sailor’s back. Wind melted into the sensation, laying his head down on the top of the stump. He had stopped running his hands through Four’s hair, and the smith responded by stirring. He sleepily pawed at Wind’s hand, urging him to continue with the soothing motions. Wind gave one halfhearted chuckle as he began again. 

       “He says it helps.” He rasped “But I think he just likes it.” 

       “Hm… well now I have a bargaining chip if I ever need my chain mail repaired.” Sky responded as he settled down. His very bones ached with weariness. The sweet release of sleep pulled at him with its seductive song as soon as he was sitting. Far too much had happened in one day, and he was very ready to have it over with. However, that apparently was not in the cards at the moment. 

        Sky just continued rubbing Wind’s back, wishing there was someone there to rub his. As the seconds went on, Wind leaned more and more into Sky, tucking his head under Sky’s chin. The only sounds were soft breathing and the crickets coming to life, that was until one rather pervasive noise made itself known. A low, long growl. Coming right from Wind’s midsection. Sky raised an eyebrow. 

       “Are you hungry? There’s food back at camp.”

       Wind quietly shook his head. Sky clicked his tongue and slipped his hand under Wind’s bangs. His skin was still over-warm, radiating sickly heat. This was one persistent fever. 

      “Are you sure? You’ve hardly eaten anything all day.” He pushed. Wind seemed to shrink, and a knot of concern wedged itself in Sky’s gut. Barely audible words came out of Wind’s mouth, but between how scratchy the words were and how quiet he was talking, Sky couldn’t make it out. 

     “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you.” 

     He leaned forwards a little to see Wind’s face, startled when he saw eyes pooling with tears. 

     “I don’t think I can tonight” Wind reiterated. His words shook as he fought to make them heard. Sky tried to not let his worry show, containing it just to the sick feeling in his stomach. 

     “Why’s that? Do you feel nauseous?” He asked. At first, Wind began to nod his head, and then some kind of resolve, or maybe that resolve breaking, made his face crumple. 

     “No.” He bit out. “It’s because when I even think about it my chest gets so tight I can’t breathe, and then my hands shake and won’t do—do what they’re told, and—and my head feels fuzzy. And I f-feel like a burden because all I do is sit around being sick while everyone else works so hard—“ 

     “Oh, Wind, hey buddy. You’re not a burden for needing a little extra attention. Everyone does sometimes.” Sky soothed, trying to hug Wind tighter. The boy sniffled, still trying to keep it together.

     “How long have you felt like this?” Sky asked, running his thumbs along Wind’s cheeks to swipe tears away. 

     “It—It used to happen sometimes at home, during the winter because food got scarce. But… it’s been ever since we had that supply shortage a few months ago. I just haven’t—haven’t been able to—“ 

     “Sh, sh. Oh, Wind, it’s alright. There’s no reason to be ashamed. Take some deep breaths with me, okay?” 

     Sky began counting, brushing his thumb along Wind’s shoulder with the beats. Wind followed easily, wiping the last of the moisture from his face. Four remained firmly asleep despite the noise, his body seemingly finally giving up on him. 

     Sky leaned back on the heel of his palm as his eyes drooped. He forced them open again, shaking his head when the world refused to come back into focus. Well, something had to be done about that. 

     “How about this: We’ll go back to camp, and try to eat something. I didn’t get a chance to anyways, so I’ll heat the food back up. I can carry Four.” He suggested. He got a little nod in response, but it was noncommittal. There were still worries behind Wind’s tired eyes; “what if”s and “what then”. Sky frowned, but just sighed and murmured quieter. 

     “I know it’s hard, but let’s just focus on the present, okay? We need some food, and some sleep. So let’s get some.” 

     Wind looked up at him this time, his nod stronger. 

     “Okay,” he whispered. And it almost sounded firm enough for Sky to have just a sliver of hope.