Wild positioned himself next to Vah Medoh, the cold air making his cheeks turn pink. He pulled his knees closer to him, opening his eyes he could see Dinraal riding along the expanse of the canyon below. Wild tilted his head towards the dragon's trail, small balls of fire floating around and then cooling.
The rising sun cast a golden hue on the landscape below, the snow glowing, and the night shift Rito Warriors started to finish up their shifts. Wild looked down at the village, he could make out Time and Sky, walking about on the landing. Wild huffed and buried his head further into his knees.
Wild heard the ruffle of feathers, a familiar sound here in the village. Small blue flames danced around him. Turning his head, he looks over and notices Revali behind him. Wild stared at the champion in awe.
"You know, you'll freeze up here if you're out here longer." He crossed his feathers, Wild looked back to the vast moat that encircled the village.
"Why are you still here? You were supposed to move on." Wild asked.
"We may be able to move on Link, but we will always be there for the ones we care about," Revali spoke up, walking up to stand beside the hunched-over Wild.
Wild released a heavy sigh. He looked down toward the inn, knowing he could have handled that reaction differently. Revali glanced down at the hero, feeling guilt and sadness from the hero.
"You know..." Revali started, gaining the attention of Wild," That was only the second time I've seen you seriously upset?"
Wild looked up with a curious gaze. Revali sighed and sat down next to the hero. Fiddling with the feathers, he continued.
"You were always so serious." He started, "One day, You were in the training yard with a few other soldiers. I'm pretty sure you remember the things they used to say about Her Highness, you overheard some of the soldiers saying awful things, made them work extra hard in training for the next month. You got so mad I was surprised your face hadn't exploded like Death Mountain."
Wild laughed at the joke, earning a small smile from the Rito. Revali's face turned sad, looking at the hero and then at the village.
"I'm trying to say that you have a right to be mad. But, you have hylians down there feeling guilty for what they did, just like you did back then." Revali reasoned.
"That doesn't excuse what they did, Revali." Wild frowned.
"I dare say you're acting a bit like a child. Yes, they kept that from you, and you have every right to be upset about it. But they are willing to do whatever it is to get you to forgive them." Revali harshly spoke.
Wild looked at Rito, smiled, and then nodded his head. Running from the group was childish when in reality he could have talked it out. Revali looked over at the Hylian and sighed.
"Until I leave this world, and travel to the next, I will stick by your side. You cannot function without my presence at all." Revali stated.
Wild looked like he was about to disagree, but with a look from Revali that felt all too familiar, he just nodded his head. With a smirk, Revali pointed his head to the Inn and then started to disappear.
"Go talk to them Champion, help them understand you," Revali stated, in the wind.
Wild looked down to the town below, sighed, and started to descend the center stone of Rito village. The anxiety began to eat at him, what would he say? He began to bite at his bottom lip while walking from the goddess statute to the inn where he found Hyrule and Wind.
"Wild!" Wind yelled, running toward the scarred hero, and bringing him into a tight hug at his waist.
"You're okay! We were worried." Hyrule perked up and then deflated.
Wild nodded his head and lightly wrapped an arm around Wind. He looked around, Hyrule catching his gaze, and sighed.
"Everyone is scattered about, I know Time and Twilight are talking to the elder. The others are just chilling until you tell us when." Wind spoke, muffled since his face was still buried in Wild's tunic.
Wild light pushed Wind away and crouched down. The expression on Wind's face was coated with guilt, brows arched, eyes glassy, and not willing to make eye contact. Wild moved his head to where he could make eye contact with the young hero.
"I'm so sorry Wild..." Wind mumbled, "I knew we shouldn't have kept it from you but..."
"Wind," Wild started, the other two hero's eyes snapping to him, "...I can't say it was okay to keep that from me. But, I forgive you. Just don't do that to anyone again."
"Thank you, Wild." Both heroes spoke in unison.
"Now, I'm going to go find Time and Twilight, gather the others at the front, and tell them I'm okay," Wild spoke up, heading to the exit of the inn.
The two nodded and rushed before him, seeing them approach Legend and Warriors in the general store. Sending a nod their way when they make eye contact. Wild continued to walk through Rito village, the cold air biting at his fingertips, his hair braided with feathers from Tulin, Saki, and Teba, their feathers making the frosted air a bit more bearable.
The closer he got to Kaneli's hut, the more anxious Wild began to feel. He remembers when he first started his journey when he first arrived at Rito Village. A smile cracked the scars on his face, and he looked up, seeing Time and Twilight discussing the monsters and their locations with Kanali.
Kanali made eye contact with Wild, gave a click of his beak, and moved his head in a "come here" motion. Wild nodded and walked in between Time and Twilight, the two moving and looking in shock at Wild. Kanali smiled down at Wild.
"Champion Decensendent, I was informing your companions about the influx of strong monsters scattered around Tabantha Frontier, near those ancient columns that reside just after Kolami Bridge," Kanali explained.
"The one across from Piper Ridge? I thought I handled those Moblins and Bokoblins already before I left." Wild questions.
"You did, brave one, but recently they have come back, not via a blood moon as you suspect, but from ominous purple-black portals, or so our warriors have described." Kanali expressed.
The heroes all stiffened. "We were heading out soon anyway, I came to say my goodbyes. Keep the warriors away from there until I send word. Please."
"You have my word, Champion Desendent." Kanali nodded.
The heroes walked away Twilight and Time looked at one another and then at Wild, they walked until they stopped at the entrance to Revali's Landing. The three stopped and Wild continued forward. Time walked up behind, and opened his mouth to speak, but Wild spoke up before he could get a word out.
"What you guys did hurt you know." Wild started, "If something like this were happening to either of you, I wouldn't keep it from you."
"I know," Time replied, hands falling to his sides.
"Then why did you keep it?" Wild's voice cracked, "Why?"
"I didn't know how to explain it. Before I left Impa's the night before we left for Zora's Domain, She told me you were stubborn, but also that she wanted me to look out for you." Time explained.
"You don't have to I'm-" Wild started
"-capable of doing it on my own? I have said that to Malon more times than I could count. I thought that keeping this secret, us seeing your memories, was protecting you." Time sadly looked at Wild. "I can see that I wasn't." '
"We're so sorry, Cub," Twilight replied.
Wild turned to Time and Twilight, tears making his eyes glossy. Wild walked forward and looked at the two heroes, and stopped in front of them.
"Just...next time it happens, tell me. It's the least you can do." Wild said bitterly. "Now, we have to head to Great Tabantha Bridge, the black-blooded monsters should be there."
They caught up with the rest of the group. After a quick trip down the many wooden bridges, they finally set off straight past the Rito Stable, which held a slight tune of Epona's song, one that made both Twilight and Time smile a bit.
"How long till we get here?" Legend asked, breaking the quiet chatter of the heroes.
"I want to say about a day, but with the time we left, we would probably have to settle somewhere for the night." Wild pondered, "Unless you guys are willing to walk through the night."
"How about we see when we get there?" Sky asked, a slightly worried chuckle escaping the hero.
The heroes fall into an easy conversation, with little bickering and playfulness from the younger heroes.
"What is the hardest monster you have had to face?" Hyrule asked "Excluding Ganon or his...versions???" he questioned.
"Would have to be Lynels." Legend stated.
"Oh! Probably Helmeroc King or Phantom Ganon! The last one doesn't count cause he's a ghost!" Wind argued, causing laughter to come from Four.
"Frostare, I hated the use of ice, always made me get stuck" Four pondered.
"What about to Time?" Warriors asked.
"First adventure would have been Morpha and my second...Twinmold." He provided.
"And you're not going to give context?" Legend asked.
"Well, Morpha was in the Water Temple, and that was a pain." Time explained, feigning ignorance.
"Not the context I was looking for but I'll allow it." Legend concluded.
The group made idle chatter amongst themselves. Wild looked back at his slate from time to time making sure they kept to the same path. Wild positioned himself in front of the group, a common action whenever any Link was in their own Hyrule.
"Alright, we're just passing a Great Fairy Fountain, Piper Ridge is just past this mountain." Wild stated, "Be on guard."
The heroes quickly brought out their weapons, Twilight and Wild brought out their bows, notching an arrow in their respective bows. Wild rushed forward quickly, bringing out a purplish potion and chugging it down, His footsteps become non-existent, and he pushed a finger to his lips throwing a thumb in the direction of the camp.
There were at least four Bokoblins and two Lizalfos, not many but if they were black-blooded like Kaneli informed, then they were going to have to work for it. Twilight and Wild rushed behind larger rocks, aiming at the monsters to get a good shot, Wild nodded the others to the rocks.
"On three guys, throw them off guard." Wild started, "3...2...1!"
On the final count, Wild and Twilight launched an assault on the monsters, aiming their arrows with excellent aim, wheezing past the charging heroes, Time, Sky, and Warriors backed each other up, slicing down Lizalfos. Wind, Four, Legend, and Hyrule try and lure the Bokoblins away from one another.
Twilight shot one of the bokoblins head-on, at the same time, Time slashed down a Lizalfos, Sky following suit. Wind started to toss his boomerang to stun the monsters, allowing Four and Legend to stick down the other two bokoblins. Wild nailed the last shot on the bokoblin, hitting him in the back of the head, all the monsters disappear into a cloud of smoke.
Their weapons were soaked in the black blood that plagued them. Wild looked down and sighed, "At least Kanali was right."
"I'll say, usually they're limited to maybe one or two groups. What changed?" Four asked, looking at everyone.
"In my Hyrule, most bokoblins and Lizalfos will travel or camp in a larger group. Though that has been sparse since the Calamity has ended." Wild contemplated, "Wouldn't be surprised if this is because of that Lizalfos we've been chasing."
"A high likelihood that is. He is being a serious pain." Warriors complained, cracking his neck.
'You can say that again." Legend walked up, rotating his arm to stretch it out.
"There should be a Stable just past Tabantha Great Bridge. We could settle down there while I write a letter to Kanali telling him about the hoard." Wild suggested, heading towards the start of the bridge.
"No reason to convince us on staying in actual beds, Wild." Sky laughed, earning a chuckle from Twilight beside him.
"Is there someone there who sells arrows? I'm pretty low on mine after that." Twilight asked.
"There should be unless Beetle decided to pack up shop and go to the next stable. You could have gotten some at the inn at Rito Village, they're known for their good quality arrows." Wild gushed.
"There's a Beetle here too?" Sky and Wind asked, the older slowly walking next to Four who was talking to Hyrule while sipping on a red potion, and the younger falling in pace with
"Yeah! He gives me items in exchange for the different beetles around the land." Wild smiled, "He would often tell stories he'd picked up along the way. You can't miss him, He's got a big pack in the shape of a beetle."
"That's so cool! The Beetle in my Hyrule uses a pretty neat boat to get around. He's brought me around a couple of times." Wind smiled hopping in excitement and they got off the bridge.
"The stable is up ahead, as you can tell." Wild laughed out.
The group walked quickly to the stable, quickly getting settled in the routine of talking to the stable keeps, Twilight sitting with the animals and petting the sheep and longhorns. Wild started to get things out to make a Meat Curry, saying something along the lines of 'the fight took energy', then watching it simmer and bringing out a small parchment.
Time sat near Wild, in front of the cooking pot, watching as Wild conversed with one of the Horse Keepers. When looking at the boys talking and bonding with others, Time realizes how young they are and how much they missed out on. He smiled sadly and looked up to a ruffle of feathers.
The Hylian Wild was talking to, Benji, shot up in surprise. Wild smiled at the new traveler, standing up to great the bird.
"Well I'll be, Kass! How's the family?" Banji asked, walking up to Rito.
"They're doing just fine. I was told I missed a certain hero in Rito village." Kass joked, looking at Wild.
"Guilty. Kanali mentioned some monsters just past the bridge, so we handled it. I was going to send a letter off with the stable, but would you mind bringing it to him?" Wild asked, finishing his letter and offering it to Kass.
"That is no issue, Champion." Kass smiled and proceeded to sit in the adjacent log from Time, the rest of the heroes gather around while Wild handed out the food, offering some to the stable folk as well.
"Speaking of, on behalf of the Rito, I offer a song to the fellow travelers you are with. For dealing with the monsters." Kass offered.
"Are you sure?" Wind asked, hesitantly.
"Very, young one. Though it is not one of the grand ones I know, like the songs of the champions.One in tune with the stable I believe." Kass smiled, looking at Wild.
"Are you talking about the one my horses like?" Wild asked, earning a nod from the bird.
Kass unloaded his accordion, tuning it for a moment and then playing a soft melody. A tune that both Twilight and Time know best, one that Epona was responding to by running from the fields to the group, resting her head on Twilight's shoulder.
Time looked in awe, his legacy had lived on in more ways than he could have imagined. Twilight smiled and hummed along to the tune, Wind was lightly waving his conductor's wand in tune with the notes. It was an overall peaceful thing after a long couple of days.
As the sun set and the night grew colder the group of nine was conversing around the fire, simple conversations that could be lost in the wind. Wild was discussing the rebuilding of Hyrule, mainly Castletown and Hyrule castle, Four and Legend looked at one another and fell silent, their vision going white...
–
Their vision cleared, they stood on solid stone, polished but definitely aged, they heard a gasp behind them, Flora appeared in regal clothing, a royal blue gown, accented with gold, and her hair long and pushed back.
"Incredible." She breathed out, Wild following close behind her.
Legend took the chance to look at Wild, who looked and clearly acted different than what they were used to, He was stoic, back straight, and on guard. Four glanced at him as well, feeling off, and looked around at Flora.
"We're at a point now where we can actually control them," Flora spoke, looking into the courtyard of Sheikah and large mechanical spiders. Both heroes looked over the edge, next to the princess, and in front of Wild.
"At the current rate, we'll soon know all we need to know about the Guardians and the Divine Beasts." Flora gushed, clearly excited about the topic. "And should Ganon ever show itself again, we'll be well-positioned to defend ourselves."
Legend couldn't deny it, the princess' excitement was contagious. The pure excitement he felt was something he only ever knew with his sister and Ravio. He smiled at the thought of them. Four was also thinking back to his Zelda, who's excitable, and passionate. Seeing it as a repeated trait among the princesses' is a relief.
"What are you doing out here, Zelda?" A booming voice asked, causing Wild to bow to one knee, and keep his head down.
Flora turned around to the voice, and her joy immediately dampened. The look made both Legend and Four looks at each other and then the source of the voice. They immediately noticed the king from his attire, regal, and large, followed by demanding presence.
They also saw a guard, who looked similar to Wild, though older and clearly looking at, who the two assume to be his son.
"I...I was assessing the results of the experiment with the Guardians." She spoke, fists clenched. "These pieces of ancient technology could be quite useful against the–"
"I know that." The King harshly replied. "They're essential to Hyrule's future and our research demands that we keep a close eye on them."
Legend glared at the king, he didn't seem to be talking like a father would to his daughter. His face was stern and serious, doesn't look to be listening to his daughter at the moment.
"However as a princess, you currently have a crucial unfulfilled responsibility to your kingdom." The king stated.
"Let me ask you once more...When will you stop treating this like a childish game?" The king questioned hard, gaze fixed on his daughter not faltering in the slightest.
" I'm doing everything I can. I'll have you know that I just recently returned from the Spring of Courage where I offered every ounce of my prayers to the goddess–"
"And now you are here wasting your time." The king cut her off, earning a shocked expression from the two heroes. "You need to be dedicating every moment you have to your training."
"You must be single-minded in unlocking the power that will seal Calamity Ganon away." The king continued
"I already am.." Flora breathed out in shock, "Don't you see–there's nothing more I can do!" Flora argued.
"My hope is...My hope is that you– That you'll allow me to contribute here in whatever way I can." Flora pleaded, sounding upset and tired.
"No more excuses, Zelda!" The king bellowed.
Legend wishes he could scream or yell at the king for being closed-minded, and scold him for talking to his daughter like that when she has clearly done everything she can. Four just stood in disbelief, anytime he had met the king he had been nothing but loving to Zelda, the sudden difference in their world was shocking.
"Stop running away from your duty. As the king, I forbid you to have anything to do with these machines from this moment on, and command you to focus on your training." The king demanded, earning a worse stink eye from Legend that he wish he could see.
"Do you know how the gossip mongers refer to you? They are out there at this moment whispering amongst themselves...That you are the heir to a throne of nothing...nothing but failure." The king calmly spoke. Flora looked to be on the verge of crying, head down and visibly upset.
The king looked down at the guardians, moving around and twisting. "It is woven in your destiny that you prove them wrong. Do you understand?" He turned to his daughter, face stern and tone just as harsh as before.
"Yes," Flora said resigned, hand folded in front of her, head still cast down. "I understand."
Legend and Four's vision slowly turn back gradually from white to the scattered noise and color of the stable.
–
Legend and Four blinked, noticing that most of their brothers have turned in for the night. The only ones up were Wild, Time, and Twilight, having a hushed conversation about something they couldn't quite catch.
Four was the first to shift, having been leaning against the log below Legend before, the groan that he released alerted the heroes of the awakening of their friends. Wild turned to look at them, and he nodded the older two into the inn so they could rest.
"You guy's okay?" Wild asked, softly.
"Besides my back, I'm okay." Four spoke just as lightly.
"Besides how pissed I am, I'm relatively okay." Legend huffed out crossing his arms.
"Which one was it?" Wild asked, looking at the two.
"It was when Flora was on a walkway, and looking into a courtyard of guardians." Four summarized, the mention of guardians made Wild flinch.
"Right, that one," Wild grunted.
"Be honest with me Wild," Legend started earning the attention of both heroes. "Was you're king always such an asshole?"
"Legend!" Four whispers shouted, slapping the veteran in the stomach.
Wild looked shocked at the question, a soft laugh escaped the hero. Wild looked at them two, then looked round, and then nodded his head. "He wasn't my favorite, but I was Flora's personal knight so I heard more from him and it altered what I thought. Even now, how he talked to her pissed me off."
"Fair enough. If someone talked to Dot like that I would freak." Four expressed.
"Same thing with Fable, she wouldn't take it obviously but I don't think me or Impa would allow it to continue." Legend smiled at the discussion about his sister, missing her even more.
"We should all head to bed, We're heading to Gerudo Town, well at least starting to." Wild smiled. "You guys sleep well, I'm going to go jump on Twilight."
The three laughed and headed to their respective beds, or in Wild's case, jumping on Twilight. A muffled 'oompf' was audible from Twilight before some sheets and hushed curses came from the two and then died down.
Legend smirked at Four right across from him and they both fell asleep.