Wind had fallen asleep and had his head resting on Wild's leg. Wild gently lifted his head and stood up. He found Wind's pillow and blanket and went back to the sleeping boy. He put the pillow under his head and the blanket on his body.
He ruffled his hair and walked away, to the stream. He knelt down next to it and watched he water lap at the shore.
It calmed him, but it also saddened him.
He sat there for what felt like ages before finally drifting off to sleep.
●●●
"Hey! Wild! When are you gonna tell us your story?"
Wild snapped awake, quickly turning his head to look at Wind.
"Huh? Oh. Right."
"Sorry, did I wake you up?"
"No. Well, yes, but it's fine."
"Oh, okay. Well, when do you wanna tell us your story?"
"Um... how about tonight?"
"Okay! I'll go tell Twilight!"
Wind ran off, leaving Wild alone by the water again. He looked back at the water and sighed. He wasn't looking forward to telling them, but he was glad to get it over with. Maybe that'd make him feel better. Maybe just letting it out would fix him.
●●●
There was a feeling of excitement and curiosity in the air as everyone sat down around the campfire. They were all talking happily. All except Wild. He was looking down at his hands, which were clasped together on his lap.
He was nervous. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he shouldn't do this.
He looked up at Twilight, who had sat down beside him. He opened his mouth, about to say that he wasn't sure about it, but then he decided against it. He didn't want to disappoint anyone. They were all so eager to hear his story, and he couldn't let then down. Not now.
It was too late to turn back.
He felt something tap his shoulder.
"It looks like everyone's settled. You can start any time. I won't rush you-"
Twilight was interrupted by Wind, who impatiently exclaimed,
"C'mon! Start!"
That startled Wild, and he nearly fell off the log.
"O-okay."
He smiled and cleared his throat.
"It's kind of long... maybe we should do this tomorrow, at an earlier time."
Wind crossed his arms.
"You said you'd do it tonight. Anyways, I don't care if it gets late."
Wild looked at Twilight, who shrugged.
"Whatever you want. If you need more time, that's fine."
"No, I can do it tonight."
He looked down at his lap again, unable to make eye contact with anyone. He played with the fabric of his shirt as he began.
"So, um, I think a good place to start would be at the very beginning. Ten thousand years ago."
"Ten thousand years? That's a long time!"
He looked up at Wind and smiled.
"Yeah. So. Ten thousand years ago. Hyrule was... nice. The Hylians and other races were doing well. They- the Sheikah and Hylians- decided that it would be a good idea to make... technology. It was a good idea, at the time. They made... big spider-like things called gaurdians. That thing that Wind showed me a while back. And they made 4 giant mechanical beasts called Divine Beasts. 4 champions piloted them. They also made a bunch of other stuff, like the Sheikah slate. The reason they made these things was for protection against... Calamity Ganon. And it worked.
Now, jump to 100 years ago. The Divine Beasts and other things had been buried long ago. The king was given a prophecy. It said that Calamity Ganon would come soon, and something underground would help defeat it. So, he decided to excavate large areas of land. They found the Divine Beasts and guardians. They found four champions to pilot the Divine Beasts.
I was appointed Zelda's personal knight, and she set off to unlock her sealing power. She would have already done that, but her mother, who was supposed to teach it to her, died before the training began.
Zelda was... unable to find her powers. The Calamity came and... corrupted the guardians and Divine Beasts. The champions, they- they were- they were killed. Everyone was killed."
He had been trying to hold back tears, but after those last few words, he gave up and let them fall.
"Zelda and I couldn't save them. And I-I- I d- I can't do this!"
He buried his face into his hands, sobbing.
"I'm f**king useless, useless, terrible excuse for a knight. I left her to do it herself..."
He felt a hand on his back. He shook it off. He didn't need comfort. Well, maybe he did...
But he didn't want it.
He didn't want this.
He didn't want any of this.
It was killing him.
Bit
by
bit.
And he was dying.
Bit
by
bit.
Why wouldn't it end?
Bit
by
bit.
Please.
Bit
by
bit.
That was all he wanted.
Bit
by
bit.
To just leave.
Bit
by
bit.
He felt heavy. Like he couldn't move. Like he was sinking into that dark sludge.
Farther
and
farther.
Deeper
and
deeper.
He couldn't move. He couldn't see.
He couldn't hear. He couldn't feel.
Anymore.
It was like he was
dying
again.
He wished he was.
Sort of.
A little.
Kind of.
Again.
Why?
Why now?
Why him?
Why did he want to
leave?
Why did he
feel
like
dying?
Like
not
doing
anything?
Like
being
worth
nothing?
Like a
fire
burning
out?
Like
hating
hurting
himself?
Like
killing
himself?
again?