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lyrabythelake · 2 years

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The Perils of Brotherhood (Warriors & Wind)

Warriors gets overwhelmed by Wind’s blatant hero worshipping, and he says something he regrets. aka I set myself a challenge to write a fic less that 500 words and failed miserably. Like really badly.

___

Wind latches onto him quickly at the beginning of their journey. Warriors doesn’t know why Wind chooses him to take a liking to, but he’s never had a family before, and he can see Wind becoming the brother he’d always wanted when he was younger.

Wind is very open about his feelings, and Warriors is taken aback at first. People don’t show their emotions in the army, they bottle them up and swallow them whole to use as fuel for battle later. Wind is like an open book; his feelings are written cleanly in his eyes and the lines of his face, whether happy or sad or somewhere in between.

Wind talks about him all the time to the others. He says things like,

“Wars says Biggoron swords are unduly heavy and impractical,”

and,

“Wars says tea is for losers, and coffee is the drink of real soldiers,”

before proceeding to drink an entire cup of coffee with an expression of obvious and utmost disgust.

When there’s a vote on which direction they should take or which battle strategy is the best, Wind will look to Warriors and raise his hand whenever he does. When the group has to split up, Wind will practically jump to Warriors’ side and insist on being put in the same group as him.

“Looks like you’ve got yourself a shadow,” Twilight teases, and he agrees with a proud smile.

He’s always (mostly) liked attention, and Wind is really sweet and pretty cool too, so he doesn’t mind. He remembers how he looked up to Impa when he was younger and, although he would never admit it, used to braid his hair the way she did just to be more like her. He’s honoured to take that same role with Wind.

But there’s a bitterness to their relationship too. It’s something he can’t quite put his finger on until one conversation a few weeks into their adventure when Wind mentions his pirate friends.

“You must miss them,” Warriors says over breakfast. All nine of them are sitting around the campfire having their own tired conversations. “You must be excited to get back to them once all this is over.”

Wind hums his agreement. “I don’t think I’ll stay with them for long, though. I’m thinking of joining the navy.”

“You are?” Warriors is more than surprised considering the amount of times Wind has expressed his fondness for his contradictory life saving the kingdom with a bunch of pirates.

“Yeah. I think I can do more good that way, you know? I want to be like you and become a captain or something.”

And all of a sudden, Warriors has flashes of Wind in the same horrific situations he’s had to face over the years. Him against a sea of bloodthirsty enemies, terrified and seemingly alone on the battlefield. Him making the choice to run his best friend through with a sword for an unthinkable betrayal. The feeling like a thousand ants crawling over his skin as he stands in front of those violating portraits, and Cia running an unwanted hand over his shoulder—

“Oh,” he replies faintly.

Later, the nine of them are crouched behind a bush, looking onto a Moblin encampment.

“I just think stealth is safer in this situation,” Warriors argues. “What if they’re infected? We don’t want to go in guns blazing.”

“It’s nine against eight,” Legend deadpans. “Any one of us could take on these mindless bunch of animals on our own.”

“We’ll vote on it,” Time mediates. “All for Warriors’ plan?”

Warriors, Wind, Sky, Four and Time raise their hands.

“Stealth it is, then.”

Except something new is stirring in Warriors’ gut. Something bitter, petty and more than a little cowardly.

“Actually, I change my mind.”

“What?!” hisses Four. “But it was your idea in the first place.”

“Legend is right. It’s unnecessary.”

“Um… actually, I change my mind too,” says Wind, and even though Warriors had been expecting it, a flash of anger rises within him.

“Of course you do,” Legend snorts.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s right,” spits Warriors. “Have a shred of independence for once, it’s embarrassing.”

He sees in Wind’s window-like eyes as the metaphorical knife plunges into his chest and twists. The regret he feels is instant, like being plunged into a pool of icy water. He looks around him at the others and the sheer shock that hangs over them like sudden, unwanted fog. Time looks composedly horrified, Twilight wears a look of sad disappointment; Hylia, even Legend is glaring his disgust.

He can’t look at Wind anymore, can’t face that instant shattering of trust and love they built up for each other. So, before anyone has a chance to catch their bearings, he turns and runs into battle.

____

“Wind’s really upset,” Twilight says, approaching Warriors where he sits cleaning the blood off his sword, sulking, separate from the rest of the group. It’s childish, he knows, and he almost hates himself as much for not gathering the courage to apologise yet as he does for saying what he did in the first place.

“I know,” he mumbles.

“He doesn’t understand.”

Warriors nods. It doesn’t surprise him that Twilight knows what this is about. He’s seen how he’s a mentor to the children in his home village and he’s probably experienced the fear that comes with having them look up to him in the way Wind does to him. He probably even heard their conversation earlier by the campfire.

“Man up, Captain,” Twilight orders. “No one likes seeing either of you like this.”

Twilight leaves him alone once more, and Warriors pauses in his cleaning, takes a deep breath. His head is telling him to plan out his apology before speaking to Wind, the way he likes to strategize and plan everything in his life. But he’s also aware that it might be more honest, more believable if he didn’t.

So he goes in guns blazing.

Wind sits on a log by the fire next to Sky, pressed against his side with his arm wrapped around him comfortingly. When Warriors approaches, a sudden blade-like silence cuts through their low conversation, and six and a half pairs of eyes turn to look at him. Wind doesn’t lift his gaze, keeping it fixed firmly on the ground.

“Wind?” he asks. “Can we talk, please?”

Sky tightens his hold on him and Wind’s face scrunches up slightly, but he still doesn’t look up. He looks utterly distraught, and Warriors’ stomach clenches with a new, violent wave of guilt.

Eventually though, Wind nods and stands, albeit reluctantly, and Warriors leads him away from the others.

Truly, Warriors doesn’t know what to say to make this better. He feels like he’s broken a part of their relationship, shattered Wind’s unwavering trust in him, and he doesn’t know what he would do if it was irreparable.

“I want to apologise,” he starts. “And I want to explain.”

Wind pauses, fiddling with the pendant around his neck. Then he nods. Warriors wishes he would look him in the eye, but he’s also fearful of what he might see in those large, blue eyes.

“You’re like a brother to me, you know that, right?”

Wind frowns.

“Maybe,” he mumbles.

“And… and you know what it’s like, with Aryll. How you want to protect her at all costs?”

Wind’s expression smooths out slightly as he nods again.

“I’ve not always been… happy, Wind. There are things I’ve done—thing’s I’ve had to do—that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, let alone you. When you said this morning that you want to join the navy to be like me, it really… I don’t want you to go through what I did.”

Wind finally looks at him then, his eyes narrowed and full of frustration.

“I had to rescue my sister from being kidnapped when I was twelve years old. I put a sword through Ganondorf’s head. I can look after myself.”

Warriors’ eyes widen at that.

“I-I know. I’m sorry, Wind, I really am. And it’s not an excuse to have spoken to you like that. I didn’t mean it.”

Wind hesitates for a moment, and Warriors isn’t sure whether he’s going to punch him or storm off to be with the others. But then, miraculously, he launches himself at him, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“What you said was really mean,” Wind tells him, his voice muffled in the material of his tunic. “It made me feel like an idiot, and I don’t forgive you.”

“Okay,” Warriors replies, tentatively hugging him back. He wasn’t expecting forgiveness, he doesn’t deserve it. He also wasn’t expecting a hug, though.

“But maybe I can stop being so needy all the time.”

“You did nothing wrong,” Warriors assures him.

“No.” Wind pulls back and looks at him. “Aryll used to be like that with me when we were younger. She used to follow me everywhere, it got really annoying, I’ll stop.”

“Okay,” Warriors agrees quietly, because secretly, maybe, Wind’s blatant hero worship of him had become a little overwhelming over time, as endearing as it might be.

“But you have to promise to tell me next time when I do something you don’t like or if you’re upset about something. Because that was humiliating earlier, and I can handle the truth.”

“Okay,” Warriors agrees again, and he means it. He also thinks they may have all gotten it wrong and Wind might just be the most mature of all of them, in a way.

“Now, can we go back; I can’t wait to see the others chew you out for this. They’re so angry, you have no idea.”

Warriors groans, but Wind grabs the material of his tunic sleeve and starts dragging him in the direction of camp, and he reckons it’s definitely worth it.

#lyra writes #this is horribly ooc for any hcs i have for both of them but sometimes you have to diverge you know??#linked universe #lu warriors #lu wind

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inkedmyths · 4 years

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Heavy Conversations

Oh my god

Could it be??? Is it???? HIM?????

Twilight stared at Feral. The shadow was clearly agitated over this revelation. Which was a fair reaction, all things considered.

"What?" His eyes flicked to Wild, whose brows were furrowed in confusion as he processed the statement. "You're saying this, this- this darkness, that it's like yours?"

Feral stared at the Sword. The darkness had dissipated completely by now, seared away by the holy light. "Yeah."

Wild blinked, then shook his head. "I thought you said there wasn't anything quite like you?"

"There isn't! At least not right now!" Feral's fingers trailed shadows as he waved them, evidence that he was getting worked up again.

"Yeah. I mean, you're a shadow! And the only people who have shadows-" he stopped. Eyes wide, he looked up at Feral, who met his with dawning realization. Slowly, they both turned to look at Twilight.

He stared back at them, mouth feeling dry. He should have known this was a conversation they'd have to have and planned ahead, but in all the chaos and excitement with these two the idea had never crossed his mind. If only it had. How was he supposed to explain this to Wild? To Feral? Regardless, he was going to have to try.

"Twilight," Wild said slowly. "If you're another Hero, then do- do you have…?" He trailed off.

Twilight swallowed in an attempt to bring back moisture into his mouth. Rubbing a hand across his face, he took a deep breath. "Yes. All of us, as far as I know, have a shadow."

There was a heavy silence. Deafening, almost. He could feel it weighing on him as the two processed the information. Wild's eyes flicked to the Sword. "So was the lynel… was that…"

"One of their doing? Yes." Hylia, he felt uncomfortable.

Feral said nothing, his face unusually blank. Wild, on the other hand, seemed to be flipping through emotions like a flip book. After a tumultuous silence, he finally stammered out a "How? Why?"

While not very specific, Twilight got the jist of what he was asking. After a moment of deliberation, he gestured to the ground in front of him. "It's probably about time I give you the full rundown of what's been going on." Wild's eyes flicked to his counterpart, but he sat down. Feral followed suit.

After one more pause to gather his thoughts, Twilight began. "So, let's start off with what you already know. Magic is afoot, and has caused several Heroes from different periods of time to run into each other." That wasn't the best way to start this conversation, but it was a start. "Now, let's get to what you don't know. Like why this is happening." Both of them sat up a little straighter at that.

"Something's gone wrong, right?" Feral said. When Wild looked at him curiously, he shrugged. "Can't think of any other reason that would cause a bunch of heroes to time travel throughout history."

Twilight nodded. "You're on the right track. That's what we thought, too, when we all first started running into each other. But we couldn't figure out what exactly it was. We had guesses based on different experiences, but no real answers." He took a deep breath. "I think we'd run into everyone when we finally got a hint. Well, everyone except you guys."

Both Wild and Feral stared at him intently. This was where it was going to get uncomfortable. "I was there when it happened. The eldest of us, Time, he and I were walking through the woods. We were… scouting, I think. I don't exactly remember, but we weren't too close to everyone else. It was pretty quiet, almost to quiet." He rubbed a hand over his chin. "I remember feeling something was off. Ominous, you know? I think I mentioned it to him, then… then I got hit by something, and got knocked aside."

He paused again. He should probably stop doing that, but it was hard to do it all in one go. But it had to be done. "When I got over the daze from the pain and hitting the ground, I looked up. And it was Time. But… not Time. Different. Darker. It was-"

"His shadow," Wild realized. Feral said nothing, his gaze distant.

Twilight nodded. "I vaguely remember yelling, fighting, and then I was pulled to my feet and we ran back to rejoin the rest of the Heroes. Time was… well, he was shaken. Everyone was, when we explained what happened. And that was only the beginning. Since that incident, we've had several run-ins with various shadows. Sometimes one, sometimes multiple. At this point, we're pretty sure it's because of them that this," he waved a hand for emphasis, "is all happening."

He waited for a moment, letting his words sink in. For an uncomfortable time, the other two were both silent as they processed the information.

Wild spoke first. "So, they're causing the whole weird time thing? But… why?"

Twilight thought this over, but was surprised when Feral answered first. "Isn't it obvious? Revenge, most likely."

Both of them looked over at him. "What do you mean?" Wild said, brows furrowed.

Feral waved a hand. "Think about it. The whole 'Trial of the Shadow' thing, right? You all fought them, defeated them, and now they're out to get back at you for it."

He was surprisingly calm about the situation, which was simultaneously comforting and worrying. "I mean, you're right. I would have thought you would be more bothered by it, though."

Feral's gaze flickered for a moment. Then, he snorted. "Who, me? Nah. I mean, I've always known that I'm an anomaly. I mean, do you remember when I first met Impa?"

Wild sucked in a breath. "Oh, yeah. I thought she was going to either have a heart attack and die or call in the guards to stab you." He let out a nervous laugh.

"And then she explained to you that I was a, uh, what did she say exactly? 'Incarnation of evil'?"

"Not true."

"You didn't know that for sure."

"Well, now I do."

"The point is," Feral said, shaking his head, "I understand that I'm an exception to a long history of general villainy. That's not what I'm upset about. I'm just still annoyed that I didn't pick up on the dark energy earlier."

Twilight relaxed somewhat, but not completely. He wasn't sure Feral was being entirely truthful, but he wasn't going to press the matter. "Well, that makes me feel a little better. I was worried you might react... badly."

"Psh, me? No, it's blondie here you gotta worry about."

"What?" Wild sputtered. "Why me?"

"You're too nice. And also have no sense of self preservation."

"That's not true!"

"Are you forgetting how you befriended me in the first place? Link, you don't know danger until it literally stabs you."

Wild pouted. "Is this about the field incident? I said I was sorry!"

"I told you they were a Yiga. I told you. And what did you do? You walked right up, introduced yourself all friendly, and nearly got gutted by a sickle."

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle as the two of them fell back into their usual pattern of banter and bickering. That could have gone much worse than it did. At least they seemed to accept the situation with the other shadows fairly easily.

Well, mostly.

Wild looked over at Twilight, frowning slightly. "So… are all of the other shadows like that?"

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know… enemies, I guess?"

"As far as I know…?"

Feral raised an eyebrow at his counterpart. "I'm the exception, remember?"

"I know that! It's just…" He bit his lip.

"Just what?"

"There are so many Heroes, so many shadows. It's hard for me to believe you're the only one."

"Do you think Twilight's okay?" Hyrule asked, looking over at Legend.

"What? You mean Mr. I-Don't-Need-Magic-To-Chuck-This-Big-Rock?" Legend scoffed. "I'm sure he's fine. He survived his journey, after all."

"I know, I know, it's just…" Hyrule sighed. "I don't like the idea of him being all alone with the Darks running about…"

The other Hero frowned, then sighed. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"It's kind of hard to believe that they're somehow born from us, huh?"

Legend's expression darkened momentarily, but it passed quickly. "I suppose. Nasty assholes, huh?"

Hyrule fiddled with the stick he'd been whittling out of boredom. "It's so off putting, you know? Seeing something that has your face, but is so completely evil. And then seeing the same, but with all your friends…"

Legend patted his back. "I know buddy, but we'll get through this. Tell ya what: If we see any of them tonight, I'll try and set their hair on fire. That ought to change the way they look." He twirled his fire rod with a smirk.

The two of them, as well as a few of the other Heroes who had been listening in, laughed. The atmosphere felt a little lighter, a little less worried and dark.

Four watched them in silence. He let out a quiet sigh, shaking his head with a wry smile. It fell away after a moment, leaving a distant look on his face. He stared into the darkness away from the campfire. Shaking himself, he turned back as Wind asked him a question.

In the shadows, a pair of eyes flashed, then vanished.

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katedoesfics · 4 years

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Shadows of the Future | Chapter 45

The days following were relatively quiet for the people of Hyrule, though for Dorian, there was no such peace. In fact, he spent most of his time away from the city, plunged into the heart of Kohga’s own plans. There were only a few things he was certain of. One; Kohga had given up on the search for the final portal. And two; he was still set on finding Rusl and using him to lure Link out of the city. And because he was set on this plan, Dorian came to the conclusion that he had not yet achieved the ability to lift the ward on the city, though he did not know how long that would remain true.

But for the first time, Dorian caught a glimpse of the strength and power that Kohga did have. Dorian had known for a while that Kohga was working on something big, and for a long time, that something was the extent of Dorian’s knowledge. But now that the portals were no longer a priority, Kohga focused his efforts elsewhere, preparing for either the rise or fall of Ganondorf. For years, he had devised plans that would cover a variety of scenarios, no matter the outcome, and the most recent plan of his was, by far, the most disturbing that Dorian had witnessed.

Over the years, Kohga had captured various men, human and Hylian alike, and used them as his test subjects. Up until now, Dorian knew nothing more except that all of his test subjects had died in the end (though not without some very disturbing results that Dorian had only seen himself a handful of times). Now, however, Kohga did not bother to keep his experiments quiet, and their torturous screams rang loudly through the Yiga Clan hideout.

Dorian was all too accustomed to keeping himself calm and composed, even in the most dangerous and terrifying situations. Keeping the appearance of being loyal to Kohga depended heavily on the expressions that showed on his face and the tones of his voice. But the experiments he had witnessed became the true test of his abilities as a triple agent, and he had to fight against every instinct that told him to react negatively. The urge to be sick twisted in his stomach as he watched the dead test subjects rise to their feet as a new, dark power took over.

The images haunted him. Kohga would stop at nothing, and Dorian could only stand by and let it happen.

“Dorian?”

Dorian turned his gaze to Impa. Her unanswered question rang loudly in his mind. Is there anything else? He had told her everything but the bit about Kohga’s experiments, and though his loyalties lay with Hyrule and the Royal Family, it was his duty to make judgement calls as necessary. And his judgement was that now was not the time to tell Impa about the experiments. In truth, there wasn’t much that could be done about it. Shutting it down completely could only be done by shutting down the entire Yiga Clan and ending Kohga’s life; all things that could not simply be accomplished in their current state. In truth, it likely could only be accomplished by Link himself, and to his knowledge, Link had no clue that the Yiga Clan even existed in the first place. The war was much deeper than Link could have possibly known, and he couldn’t risk Link being aware of any more than was necessary. If he knew the threat Kohga posed to Hyrule, he was sure Link would try to take action. They would be fortunate if he could survive against Ganondorf, never mind the Yiga Clan.

Not only that, but his success against the Yiga Clan likely depended on his father’s death. And that was not something Dorian was ready to admit to.

Dorian answered her without further hesitation. “No.”

Her eyes narrowed on him, but he held her gaze. He was sure Impa was skeptical of him, and though she typically let Dorian do what he thought was best, she looked as if she were about to push the matter further.

But the ground shook suddenly and violently, nearly throwing them off their feet, causing just the distraction Dorian needed. Dorian and Impa ran out of the shrine, their gazes turned toward the center of the city. After a moment, the shaking ceased, but was quickly followed by a dark, strangely blinding light that split the sky like an explosion. They shielded their eyes, and when the light subsided, the sun had seemingly disappeared altogether. The sky had turned a dark, eerie shade of purple twilight, though no stars shone through. Curtains of sheer darkness seemed to move ominously over the sky like the northern lights would do high in the mountains.

“Ganondorf,” Impa muttered. “It is time.”

*****

Rusl was at the base as soon as he saw the darkness that seemed to flash across the sky, and before Impa could even think to summon him, though they both he knew what needed to be done.

He hadn’t expected to see his son, but he distinctly heard the voices of the Champions from one of the offices inside, and he made his way quietly to them. He poked his head in as they spoke, but there was no sign of Link or Zelda.

He leaned against the frame of the door, his arms crossed, as Revali complained.

“What are we waiting for?” he muttered. “We need to get out there!”

“Don’t like missing out on all the fun?” Rusl chimed in, making his appearance known. He noticed Mipha studying him, her brows furrowed, and he met her gaze.

“Does Link know you're here?” she asked.

“Hello to you, too,” he said.

Mipha rolled her eyes at him. “He's not going to be happy.”

“My deepest apologies,” he said. “I didn't realize he ran this country. Hero or not, I don’t take orders from him.”

Mipha frowned, but said nothing more. She turned her gaze back to the live news coverage.

“What are you doing hanging back here, then?” Revali asked. “Missing out on all the fun.”

“None of your business,” he said coolly. He stepped out of the doorway and back into the hall as Zelda and Link made their return. He met his son’s angry gaze and frowned. “Why is no one ever happy to see me?”

“What are you doing here?” Link snarled.

Rusl said nothing for a moment. He sighed softly through his nose, then turned away from his son. “Let’s talk.”

Link hesitated, then followed him around the corner. When he stopped, he turned back to face him.

“What are you doing here?” Link repeated.

“Same thing as you,” he said dryly.

“This doesn't involve you,” Link hissed.

“Look; when the king calls, you answer.”

“You're retired.”

“Not anymore.”

Link hesitated. “You can't do this,” Link said, beginning to panic. “What about Aryll?”

“I'm not going anywhere,” he said. “King Roham was kind enough to keep me around here. Besides, Aryll’s fine. She’s safe with Riju.” He hesitated for a moment.

“Well, probably in more trouble than if she were home alone.” He shrugged. “But Riju said I could pawn her off on her.”

Link's lips twisted into an annoyed snarl, but Rusl only grinned.

“That look was more terrifying on your mother,” he commented.

“This isn't a joke,” Link hissed. “She’s not safe. No one is safe. And you're not supposed to be a part of this.”

“The whole world is a part of this,” Rusl said. “This is a war, Link. You cannot possibly end this by yourself. The sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be.”

“And when did you plan on telling me this?” Link muttered.

Rusl hesitated and his voice softened. “Never.”

“Never?” Link repeated, growing more enraged with him.

“See, that's how this parenting job works; I don't have to tell you shit.”

“And what happens if you get yourself killed?” Link hissed.

“You underestimate me,” he said. “I have a lot more experience under my belt than you do.”

“No,” Link said. “I have enough on my plate. I can't be saving your ass, too.”

“You're the one that's going to need help.”

“I'm the one that's going to lose a father!”

“Well I won't lose a son!”

Link stared blankly at him for a moment, then pulled his gaze away. Rusl fumbled with one of the weapons at his side. He pulled out the small handgun, slipped in the clip, and handed it to Link. Link turned to look at the gun questioningly, then up at him.

“That's useless to me,” he said.

Rusl shrugged. “Never know when you'll need it.”

Link took the weapon slowly, turning it over in his hands.

“That's the trigger,” he said with a smirk, pointing to the trigger on the weapon.

“I'm not an idiot,” Link hissed. He pocketed the weapon regardless.

They stood facing each other wordlessly for a moment.

“You know,” Rusl started. “I did alright.”

Link blinked at him. “What?”

“Your mother said I couldn’t do it, but,” he crossed his arms, “I showed her. I raised a decent kid.”

Link rolled his eyes. “Right,” he muttered. “Keep telling yourself that.”

Rusl pulled him into a hug. Link wrapped his arms around him, but just as soon as they embraced, Rusl pulled back and forced a crooked smile.

“Go kick some ass,” he said. He hesitated at his name, and glanced over his shoulder. He turned his gaze back to his son and saluted him playfully. “Come back alive, k?” He held his gaze on him a moment before turning away to join his comrades.

#sotf #shadows of the future #loz #botw #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #fic #fanfic #sotf45

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