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The Keaton Mask was a comforting layer of protection on his face. It wasn’t magical, Keaton was a children’s character in Hyrule. But, it was safe. His expressions were harder to read. Made him feel older, even if it made him look younger. As masks often did.
He hefted the too-large sword in his hands, glaring ahead at the other one clad in green. Link grinned as he managed the blade ahead of him. He was finally getting big enough for this sword again. Sheik would be proud… he hoped. Though, he- …no, Adult Zelda probably wasn’t picturing this when she sent him back. …She certainly hadn’t intended this to be his regained childhood, he’d known that from the final look Zelda had given him.
He yelled and swung his sword, barely missing the adult clad in green. They leapt out of range. Shoes kicking up dust in the courtyard. They spun around him, spinning their blade to jab him with the blunt pommel. A flurry of blows. A disorienting beratement. Link grimaced behind his mask and raised his sword. A blue fairy swept up in front of them from the blue scarf.
Navi?
“Link! Left!” the fairy warned.
The “Hero Link” swept their blade down to catch against Link’s at the fairy’s warning. Link stared at her. No. It’s not Navi. Her voice was too high, her color too bright. It’s an illusion. A cruel, horrible trick. He screeched and swung again, which thudded hard against the stone. The Stal Children had explained everything when they offered to lead him to the Sorceress of Time. An evil Witch had cursed time itself, and he'd fallen into an adventure yet again. The Witch was reportedly obsessed with the Hero. Of course she'd make some strange hazy corruption of his adult self for him to fight. Because everyone liked and knew him better as an adult.
Link was certain this was worse than fighting a shadow of himself. The other green clad Hero with a Fairy didn't mirror him exactly. They were deliberate and determined. Unrelenting. Link roared in frustration and crashed his sword against the shield.
He dodged a forceful sweep of a sword. The taller Hero stumbled slightly in their own momentum. Link lept, slashing down and catching the False Hero in the arm. The sword grinded against chainmail and cut into their bicep.
They hissed, swinging their sword to the side. Link quickly lifted his shield and pushed forward, opening the Hero's guard to stab up. They pulled back quickly, eyes narrowing. It was a graze, more than anything. Link missed having longer limbs…
The Hero spun, kicking Link's legs out from under him. Link yelped, fumbling to the ground. His mask fell askew as he collapsed. Eyes widening as a flash of steel glinted over him. The False Hero crashed their sword down against his left sleeve. They kicked away his sword. Link watched their expression. Their brows knit firm and lips pulled into a frown. War hardened with a face carved from marble. But their eyes. Their eyes flickered wide, gentle in their examination of him.
Link stared, bewildered. Why hadn't they moved? Finished the fight? The Hero sighed softly at the look, then pulled the sword away.
The fairy flitted down to hover over him. The blue fairy. The fairy that looked so much like Navi from a distance but wasn't like her at all. “Hi! I'm Proxi and this is Link! We're not here to fight you! We want to help you!”
Link shook his head, pointing to the direction of the shattered bones of Stal Children and then his sword, spun out of his reach.
The Hero looked almost sheepish, just hidden under their carefully neutral, firm gaze. They offered a hand. Proxi voiced their words. Link didn’t realize people other than Kokiri and himself could let fairies speak for them. “The Stals have been taken over by the Sorceress Cia. She's trying to get to me…”
Link frowned, and ignored the hand, flipping backward to stand. He briefly readjusted his Keaton mask over the side of his face. He dusted his hands and placed his hands on his hips.
“May I?” Proxi asked, gesturing to Link. The fairy's telepathy brushed against his mind. A gentle request, familiar and calming. Link watched her for a moment, a wash of sadness coloring his gaze. … He missed Navi. Tatl, too… He sighed, nodding, letting her brush into what words he wanted spoken and no further.
Proxi shifted to hover over his shoulder, humming. She changed her voice slightly, sounding younger, somehow, and voiced the thought ringing in his head. The Hero and the Sorceress.
“Why does the Sorceress want you? What did you do?”
The Hero's expression darkened, seeming so, so drained. They smiled regardless, “She wants the Hero's Spirit. I'm the closest she can get.”
“Hero's Spirit? What does that mean? You're not a ghost.” Link's brows furrowed, head tilting.
The Hero shook their head, and said nothing. Link glanced at Proxi. She shrugged and whispered, “They're not telling me anything.”
Link crossed his arms.
The Hero glanced Link over, turning to pick up Link's sword. “It's just an old legend.”
They turned the handle toward Link, the blade carefully turned off to the side and down so it didn’t point at them and would be difficult to use against them without their notice. Careful. This stranger was so careful. “There are more time-displaced people like you that we're working with. We will get you home. Okay?”
Link took the sword slowly. Home. Where even was that now? The castle? The Kokiri? Somewhere else? …They probably wouldn't care about the semantics of that. Just throw him back to his wandering childhood like things like this usually did. He glanced at the red stain in the Hero's white sleeve. “... I didn't get you too bad, did I?”
The Hero smiled, softer than the other smiles they'd given. Truer. They looked at the wound with a light tsk sound. They shrugged casually and grabbed a medical kit from their pouch. “No, I'm alright. Impressive fighting back there, good work.” They pulled the sleeve up and wrapped the injury. “You gave me a challenge.”
He nodded slowly.
The Hero looked around, watchful and focused. They waved Link to follow them, walking away. Their scarf swinging with a gentle rhythm. Link watched their casual stride. Slowly, he began following.
Proxi flew around him with a soft giggle, “Glad to have you with us, Young Link!” She cheered. The blue fairy swept up to the Hero's shoulder.
Link swallowed down the nerves bubbling up in his throat, then jogged to follow the Hero and the Fairy closer. Briefly, the child reached toward the tail of blue fabric, it was such a perfect lifeline, something to hold and secure ... Instead, he balled his hands into fists at his sides while the scarf swung freely. He was a big kid. He didn’t need anybody to protect him.
“Oh! Link! You’re just a little guy!” Durunia cheered almost as soon as they entered the camp, immediately picking him up. Link yelped, flailing his legs. He growled at the Goron. Durunia chuckled, setting him down “Ah, I got excited. You’re so much smaller than I remembered.”
Link huffed, glaring to the side as he rubbed his shoulder.
“Oh, this is your era’s Link!” Proxi gasped.
The Hero had paused, watching, head tilted curiously.
“Not quite yet. He’s got a few more years to grow first.” Durunia commented.
Link shook his head, but nobody seemed to notice. He crossed his arms.
“Ruto! Come look, it's a Young Link!”
The Zora Princess twirled into the scene immediately, her eyes wide. A long scar traced across her cheek and a dash on her shoulder. Link stared. That hadn't been there last he saw her adult self. "Oh my STARS” she gasped, “He's so little!”
She came up to him with a smile, kneeling. “Hello Sweetheart. You must be feeling quite lost.”
Link frowned, shaking his head aggressively. He was Not her sweetheart and he was Not lost.
“Oh? Link and Proxi fill you in enough already?” She smiled softly “That's good at least. I hope we can get a portal home for you quickly- war isn't a place for children.”
“No.” Link whispered, eyes tracing the scar again. He frowned, “I'm helping.”
Ruto and Durunia both looked at him wide-eyed.
“Of course you can, bud, and I know you were- are, an adventurous little guy…”
“But it's war, not helping a friend navigate some temperamental waters.”
Link huffed, and crossed his arms. He glanced at Proxi and the Hero.
The Hero seemed to be trying to let Link fend for himself, leaning to investigate some random crate of supplies nearby. Their ear turned slightly towards them, entirely unsubtle.
Proxi sighed and fluttered to Link. She accepted the role of Voice again with a little twirl around Link's head, “I fought them easy peasy!” Link offered, gesturing toward the Hero. They made a sputtering sound, failing to listen sneakily at all. Link grinned gesturing at the two sages as well, “And I saved all the sages. I can do this.”
Ruto stared at him for a moment, then slowly, hovered her hand over his cheek. “Oh…” she smiled, soft with memory, “I did miss you.”
Darunia considered for a moment, face scrunching. “But how? You're what, 5?”
“He's Hylian, he's at least 10.”
“Doesn’t matter!” Link cried, frustrated, “The sword and-”
“Right!” He announced, “That ocarina! The Princess mentioned something about that.”
Link nodded enthusiastically. They got it. They'd see past his size-
“...I suppose I can't stop you, but do consider-” Ruto started.
Link groaned dramatically, cutting her off. “I'm big enough to fight! I fought a giant demon mask at this size! I can do this!” he set his hands on his hips, glaring.
Darunia chuckled, “That's quite imaginative! Would love to see that in action eh?”
Imaginative?! If a demonstration is what he needed- Link pulled his sword and shield out. He rolled with his shield against the Goron's shins, pushing Darunia off balance.
Darunia yelped as he fell. He rolled back onto his feet, readying himself. Link shifted, preparing to show exactly what he could do in this body, too.
“Yah!” The Hero was suddenly on him, grabbing his left arm and pulled away from his target, and a leg swinging to lock his feet from maneuvering. They raised their other hand to halt Darunia. Link craned to try and bite the Hero, but they seemed to know exactly how to stay out of his range.
Everyone was quiet for a moment. “Ha- hahf… Ishe?” The Hero uttered, cringing at theirself. They looked at Proxi, who had been hovering with baited breath.
“Oh! Oh, sorry!” She swooped over to the Hero.
They sighed, and Proxi became their voice again. “I see you’re old friends, sure, but we must not attack each other. We must act as unified allies, which means if you want to fight someone, you do so with agreement to practice. No true steel.” They released Link’s sword arm. “Understand?”
Link huffed, brushing himself off and stepping away. He nodded, glancing at the ground.
“Ah nah you're good, kid, keep me on my toes. Or off them, I guess!” Darunia chuckled, “I know you're capable.”
Ruto sighed, kneeling back to Link's view. “I'm sorry Link, why don't we do some proper catching up, hm?”
Link looked up at her, “...Zelda?” He whispered.
Ruto smiled, “She's well. Very busy repairing things. But well.”
The Hero sighed, leaning back again as Proxi flew back to Link and offered her services to chat and catch up.
The dust settled as the Fierce Deity stared blankly ahead. The air still tasted of hatred and evil, the darkness looming in the horizon. The Hero stepped forward in front of the massive being. The blank gaze snapped to them.
Not even a hint of hesitation. They stood firm. Good. If it came to a fight the Deity preferred a confident challenger. Someone who might survive for at least a minute.
“Link?” They called. The Fairy's interpretation loud and gentle all at once. “It's clear. The rest fled.”
A soft pause. The Hero slid their sword into its sheath, “You're safe to let go now.”
The Deity lowered the massive sword, and the Child stumbled as he shrank back to normal. He kept his balance quickly. His bones felt alight with fire, his heart pounding with the remnant of the mask's power.
Sometimes, Link wondered. Why couldn't he just stay like that? Why did he have to become small again anyway? The boy huffed as he put the mask back onto his belt.
“Are you okay?”
He looked up at the Hero with a slight snarl. He was starting to hate that he had to look up so much still. It was much more comfortable to be taller. To be stronger.... Safer. He nodded once.
The Hero watched him with careful, curious eyes. Link looked them up and down, then turned to look at the keep. Link secured their surroundings while the soldiers set up their camp in the keep. He ultimately settled on the ground against one of the more secluded walls.
Moments later, Captain Link sighed with effort as they sat down next to Young Link in the dirt. The sound was clearly exaggerated, like they were trying to make sure Link knew they were there. The Hero fiddled with their hands as Proxi hopped onto their shoulder and smiled at Link.
Link smiled back, feeling it pull awkwardly against the edges of his lips and sting his cheeks. It felt like a different kind of mask, heavy and awkward on his face. He stopped smiling.
Proxi cleared her throat and the voice she used for The Hero came out. “How are you doing?” They said, looking softly at him.
Link shrugged, looking ahead to the view of Not-His-Zelda talking to Not-His-Impa. The Hylian soldiers were milling about, looking tired as they finished fixing up their camp for the night.
Proxi did not sound convincing when she told the captain “I'm fine,” for him.
Link gave the fairy a light pout, and she grinned in a way that dared him to have to say things aloud if he wanted them said in a specific way.
The Hero huffed, looking ahead, “You don't…” They shook their head, and had Proxi restart, “You can be a kid. If you want.”
“I want to help.” Link said, expression furrowed with determination.
“I understand.” The Hero said, pushing their hair back into place, swept behind their ear. It always seemed to wander to the other side and shade their eyes. Like their face was supposed to be a secret and they kept forcing it back into the light. “I just wanted to make sure you knew we can manage this.”
Link shook his head, “I'm not just a normal kid, you know that. I can handle this.”
“I'm not saying you can't. I've seen your skills at work. It's impressive.” Proxi paused and glanced back at the Hero, seeming confused, then continued, “You still deserve to have the childhood Zelda promised you.”
Link whispered with his own voice, “How do you know about that?”
The Hero smiled, ruffling his hair enough to knock off his hat. “Time travel is weird, that's all.”
Link laughed and nodded in agreement, putting his hat back on. Link looked down, leaning against the Hero. “I still want to help. These people deserve my help too, right?”
They nodded, shifting to give Link a gentle half-hug. Proxi hopped off the Hero's shoulder and flew around them. She settled on top of Link's head.
Link giggled a little. The Hero hummed, “You tell me if you need a break. Okay? I'll be the first to run over.”
He nodded.
“Also, that mask is terrifying to hear you put on!" Proxi added. The Hero nodded with a light eyeroll, and isn't that rude-
Link grinned, “Do you wanna try itttt?”
The Hero's face contorted funnily, halfway between a polite smile and a concerned grimace. “No, I prefer my magic items non scream-inducing.”
Link shrugged, putting the Keaton Mask back over his face with a laugh, “Your loss!”
The Hero snorted, shaking their head.
Link squinted at them for a brief moment, then grinned, pulling something out from his pack and dropping it over the Hero's head. The Hero balked, looking up in an attempt to figure out what he did.
Zelda laughed from the short distance she had been. “That's adorable! I want one!”
The Hero's face flushed and they grabbed the bunny hood off from their head. They glared lightly at Link.
Link giggled, “Nooo it suited you!”
The Hero’s lips just barely curved into a smirk and they stood, bunny hood in hand. They began walking up to Zelda.
Link scrambled to follow, “Hey wait! That's still mine!”
The Hero raced over to Zelda, tossing the hood in her direction.
She caught it, grinning. “Link, he doesn't need you to tease him so-” she held the hood out for Link to take.
“Yes he does!” the Hero cheered.
Link tackled Zelda. She shrieked and ducked out of Link's grasp, “Oh, okay!” She grinned and placed the bunny hood on her own head, winking. “Let's go.”
Link gasped, laughing and giving chase to the Princess. Looping playful circles around the camp.
Impa gave the Hero a stink-eye. …She was definitely more like Link's Impa than he gave her credit for.
Link roared in frustration as he cut against the demonic beast. No one had come to help him yet- He could do it- he had done plenty of battles like this alone before. He just had to focus on the larger enemy. Nevermind that the horde behind him was ever growing and he'd never managed something like that alone.
He grabbed the mask and let the wash of deity like magic claw through him. He screamed, and bodied through the beast's armored hide with the massive twinblade. He twirled the blade with a frenzy of rage and strength.
The monster remained standing. Powered by something Link couldn't see.
The Mask's magic started to tear past his natural reserve and he frantically pulled it off. He shrunk, exhausted. The beast slammed against him. He cried out, fumbling back.
Why hasn't anyone come yet?
He threw another strike at the monster. Again and again. It clawed and thrashed and destroyed. With a sturdy blow to his head, wood cracked.
Link’s ears rang. He stumbled as he tossed himself at the beast again.
Teeth gnashed at him and he dived out of the way, only for a monster behind him to strike him instead. It took 4.5 seconds for the dark to claim him. His eyes fluttered shut and he collapsed in a heap.
He was getting carried. Link lazed his head against the person’s shoulder. A woman… Princess Zelda maybe? The sound of battle was distant, but there. …Lady Zelda wouldn't take him away from the battle. She'd have someone else do it. She would fight.
Link groaned, and opened his eyes. White hair. Tan skin. A Sheikah, then?
Link frowned, looking up at the woman's face. Lana? No. Lana's hair was blue and long… But her face looked so much like Lana.
“Who-?”
“Don't worry, young Link, feel free to keep sleeping.” She said softly. She pet his hair, gentle and reverent.
Link pulled back in distaste and shifted to look at her. His head pounded. Who looked like Lana? Why did she know his name? What kind of person would take him away from a battle, carrying him like this?
“Cia.” Link whispered, eyes widening. The time witch. Who dragged him here in the first place.
She smiled at him, soft and sad.
He thrashed. With a yell, he pushed and kicked, and forced her arms open. She fumbled to stop him from falling outright. He landed more or less on his feet. His sword- she hadn't taken it. He grabbed the blade from its sheath quickly.
Cia knelt down to him. Link took a step back, flicking the Keaton Mask over his face as quickly as he could. It had split down one of the eyes. His mask, his shield, was cracked.
She giggled at him. Giggled. The sound felt like nails on a chalkboard. She tapped his mask in the forehead, “Such a cutie. I did enjoy watching your adventures… You were the incarnation that truly started to catch my curiosity… Such eloquent mastery of time…”
Link growled at her, raising his sword.
She sighed, standing back up to her full height. She loomed, tall and intimidating and radiating the same terrible power as Ganondorf once did. “I do wish we could have helped each other… …I could have brought more of your old friends to you.” She said, soft and warm.
Link's eyes widened… Navi?
“Cia! Get away from him.” the Hero demanded, Proxi’s voice loud and firm. The scarf billowed in the wind, their stance firm. They were a picture of confidence.
Cia looked at them with a sigh. Link didn’t really understand the expression she had, but he felt like he should give the Hero a mask too. It would be better than letting her look at them like that.
She gestured to Link, “He was alone. I figured he'd need help before any of your soldiers could get to him.”
The Hero looked at him with near panic in their gaze. It was smoothed over with that heroic confidence.
“Ah? Worried you missed your chance to be the one to help him? You really are the perfectly unified version of the Hero's Spirit…” She lamented.
The Hero shouted and rushed for her. Cia vanished in a flurry of magic just before the blade could hit her.
Link stared as the Hero panted, “You okay?”
Link nodded. Eyes focused on the way the Hero looked so. So… dark. That's what it was. There was a dark glower in their usually bright eyes. Like Cia had pulled whatever made it straight up to the surface.
“Are you?” Link whispered, brows furrowed.
The Hero tilted their head, confused, “You don’t need to ask me that, kid.” They straightened up, sliding the Master Sword back in its sheath. “I'm better than ever.”
…Adults never understood. They certainly didn’t know just how much he understood or saw.
…
Link wasn't surprised when he'd heard Cia had pulled Dark Shadows from the Hero. Some soldiers had mentioned they were creepy, some had said it proved the Hero wasn't as perfect and pure as people claimed, and some of them got a kick to the shin because Link got tired of listening to them.
But he hadn't expected the Hero to come back looking utterly defeated. They had won that battle. They defeated the dark. Their own darkness. That was a difficult battle. It was an important success.
The Hero still went directly into their tent. Proxi asked questions that were clearly ignored.
Link had never been good at leaving things or people be. It just never settled right to ignore those sorts of things. So he followed. He hopped onto the Hero's bed roll, climbed onto their chest and stared at them.
Proxi hovered nervously.
The Hero opened an eye to look at him. He continued to stare back.
They nodded to Proxi and she shifted lower to start speaking for them. “You heard, didn't you?”
Link nodded.
They grumbled. “Everyone is going to hate me-”
Proxi gasped, cutting off the Hero she was speaking for. “No, they're not!” Proxi said, “We already proved that! ALL of us were helping you.”
The Hero grunted. “It’s not that. I wanted to prove- I thought I could do it alone. Just once. Like just about all the heroes before me…” They glanced at Link. “Like you.”
Link stared. Like him? He wasn't quite sure what they already knew about his story. Few people knew either of his stories…
“I didn't. I always had friends helping me.” Link said. He frowned, pensive, “This is too much to do alone. No one can expect you to do it alone.”
They looked intently at him, like this was confusing. Like he'd said something out of character. Why did they assume he didn't know that? This wasn't a solo mission, as much as he was used to that, he knew he nor anyone else could manage a war alone.
“I get that now,” The Hero huffed a smile, “Thanks, though.”
Link considered them for a moment, and draped himself over them in a hug. The Hero snorted a laugh and hugged him back.
Link was… bored, as children often were in downtime.
Captain Link was busying theirself with mending their shirt, stitches neat and seemingly invisible. Which was impressive, but not the kind of thing he wanted to learn or do right now.
He tossed a deku seed in the air, catching it and tossing it again. Mind numbingly over and over again. Why was there nothing to doooooo? Weren't wars supposed to be busy and action packed? At least his travels alone were always interesting for one reason or another.
The winds picked up and blew his seed out of the air, landing by another tent. Link huffed, scrambling to a stand to grab it. The wind flurried past in another direction, sending the seed skidding back to where he started. Link blinked, rushing to catch it. The air blustered against his side, making him shriek a giggle as the seed flew out of his reach once again. Link laughed and chased the seed and the wind back and forth.
The Hero Link however, was less amused by the sudden flurry of winds. Their scarf flapped and billowed. The shirt and thread repeatedly yanked away in the winds. They sighed, putting away their mending supplies. They raised a hand to shield Proxi from the wind, looking around suspiciously.
A giggle echoed on the wind and Link slowed, listening carefully. A Kokiri? The wind playfully tossed his hair and hat and Link rushed to grab at it. If this was a Kokiri, they always reappeared from their hiding place in the wind when he caught them. The giggle echoed again, further off. Ohhhh, two could play at that game. Link laughed and chased the sound. He caught a glimpse of a green tunic behind a tree and Link pounced. The other kid yelped, laughing.
Link stared at the boy. Maybe a few years older than him. Not by much, though. His tunic and his hat was so much like the other Kokiri. Yet. His ears were smaller than any Kokiri's. The air around him was of the sand and sea, not the forest green. He had no fairy. Like him.
A Hylian…. Like him. The scar across his eye suggested he was likely an adventurer, a hero, too. Like him.
The boy waved, and picked himself up off the ground. He offered a hand to Link. Link blinked, stumbling to a stand on his own.
A girl’s voice echoed out of the boy's pendant “Oh! Who’s that Link? OH WAIT, Hi! This is my big brother Link, I'm Aryll, what's your name!?”
Link tilted his head at the pendant. “Link,” he whispered.
“Oh! That's cool! I didn't know there was another one!”
The Big Brother Link’s hands moved excitedly, smiling. Link stared blankly.
Big Brother Link’s hands stilled slowly, “Oh,” he uttered, he smiled, nervously. “Don’ sign?” He said, it sounded like he'd swallowed the words.
He shook his head…. He couldn't help it. He had to know. He tilted his head and pointed to his own throat, then the other Link, “Accent?”
Big Brother’s smile flickered away for just a moment.
“He can’t hear well without this charm!” Aryll cheered, “So he learned how to speak without hearing it, which is SUPER COOL.”
Link looked back at him, wide eyed and awed. Big Brother Link rolled his eyes, grin returning.
There was another question- Why was she in a pendant? Link pointed at the pendant, his other hand shifted to grab his ocarina, “...Cursed?”
“No, no! I'm at home with Grandma. I'm helping Link with this journey though! He told me I could go with, on the next adventure. But the magic didn't bring me so I figured out how to go in spirit!”
“Oh.”
“I see you found the Hero of Winds.” Proxi's “Captain” voice echoed from behind. Link turned, nodding. The Hero leaned against the tree.
“You ruined my sewing with all that breeze, Toon.”
He signed back, hands flicking across his face and head, grinning.
The Hero's hands flew to their hair to fix back into place, frantically.
Link frowned, confused.
Aryll giggled, “He said ‘Does the sewing look as neat as your hair?’”
Ohh. Link laughed. Hero scowled, a playful look hidden in the light curve of the corners of their lips.
Link barely whispered his question, but nobody heard it. He looked at Proxi and she shifted to hover over his shoulder to voice his question, “Why Toon?”
Toon waved a hand, and started to sign again, Aryll translating soon after. “I was ‘Wind’ until I drew on that one's face to make them look like a cartoon.” Toon laughed.
“Caught red-handed. Literally. Bad form for a pirate,” the Hero signed in return, shaking their head. Proxi translated the sign for Link with a light giggle.
Link’s brows furrowed. “Pirate?”
“Oh!” Toon gasped, smiling. “Yes!” he signed. Link tilted his head at the hand movement, mimicking it as Toon continued. “I'm a pirate of Honor! No worries, your valuables are safe.” He winked exaggeratedly with his un-scarred eye.
“Tetra does that better.” Aryll commented with a giggle.
Toon signed something sharp and sarcastic looking with a laugh. Aryll gasped and laughed but did not explain the symbols.
Link glanced at the Hero. The adult simply rolled their eyes with a shake of the head and a small smile. Link sighed, kicking at the dirt.
“Well, if you three can entertain each other, I'll be going back to work.” The Hero said, taking a half step back.
“No, what! You just put the sewing down! Don't you want to play a game?” Toon signed.
“I wanna play,” Link offered.
Toon grinned, grabbing both of their hands. “You have no choice now, Captain Sir Captain!”
Hero yelped as they stumbled to follow. They took to being kidnapped easily enough after Toon explained the game. Laughter echoed over the field long into the day. For a moment, Link was just a kid again. Playing with his big siblings until the sky was a hazy orange.
…They weren't his siblings, though. Toon wasn't Kokiri. Hero wasn't like Sheik. He would be sent home, forgotten, in the end. He always was.
Link wasn't just a kid, anymore. He was a big kid, though. He could handle it.