Snail Ch. 1: I Was Just Born Like This, Wish That I Could Change It
Legend is hit with an unknown spell, or perhaps curse, leaving him the age he was when he began his first adventure but with his current memories. The Chain worries.
It happens suddenly.
One moment, the Veteran is himself, dancing across the battlefield with his usual grace. The next, there’s a bright flash and he’s a tiny bundle of green and pink. He tumbles to the ground, dazed and disoriented, leaving the rest of them rushing to cover him and drive back the monsters who see a sudden piece of easy prey and redirect their attention to the unmoving lump on the ground.
The battle is quickly won with their foes so distracted and protectiveness running hot through the heroes’ veins. The moment the last monster dissipates into dark smoke Sky is turning, searching for his downed brother. It takes a second but he quickly spots him - he’s small, even smaller than usual; a tiny, trembling figure with a shock of pink hair that has Sky biting back the urge to coo. He takes a step forward, intent on seeing if the Vet is okay, if he’s hurt at all besides the transformation, and bright violet eyes snap towards him.
The look in them brings Sky up short because that’s fear in those eyes. Not relief, or worry, or a hundred other things he’s used to seeing in them. No, this is raw, blatant fear. His other brothers are crowding close now, exclaiming loudly in worry, and those bright eyes follow their every move. Sky’s heart sinks at the realization that for whatever reason their veteran is scared of them.
One of them does something he can’t catch - moves too fast or steps too close, perhaps - and Legend bolts. The heroes shout after him but he’s fast, disappearing into the trees lining the road in the time it takes to blink.
“STOP!!!” Sky shouts, halting the rest of them in their tracks. Rarely does the Chosen Hero make himself so loud, preferring to let the more energetic of his siblings take the spotlight. As such, when he does deign to raise his voice, the rest of them listen.
“B-but we can’t jus’ let ‘im go off on ‘is own!” Wind protests, biting his lip. “‘e’s all small, he’ll get lost out there alone!”
“And we’ll find him,” Sky consoles. “But did any of you see his face?” He gets his answer in confused looks and headshakes. “He was terrified. And-” He pauses, swallows. “And I’m pretty sure it was of us.”
He’s met with horrified silence.
Sky watches them for a moment, glancing between them and the trees where Legend disappeared in thought. Then he nods.
“Okay. You all stay here, maybe make camp or something. I’ll be back.”
“Where are you going?” Four asks as he turns towards the trees. He glances back, a reassuring smile on her face.
“To find our Veteran, of course.”
And then she’s gone, vanishing into the forest after their missing brother.
~~~~~~~~~
Sky wanders through the trees, trying to stay in a straight line. It might not even be the right idea; Legend may very well have veered far away from the path the moment he entered the woods. Still, if she doesn’t want to get horribly lost, going straight is her best bet.
She doesn’t want to risk having Wolfie sent after her with a terrified child - mentally or not - somewhere in the woods. They may never find him then.
Luck seems to be on her side, though. It takes perhaps ten, fifteen minutes tops before she hears a distinctly-hylian noise in the otherwise normal chorus of the woods.
Her ears perk up at the sound and he listens closely. There!
Sky follows the sounds, faint as they are, to a dense clump of bushes. He can’t see anything through the leaves, but the noise cuts off when he draws near. His heart aches.
There’s no way Legend will be coming out of his hiding spot any time soon. Sky weighs his options (of which there aren’t many) before sighing and moving to sit down against a nearby tree. Not too close, though, or Legend will just feel trapped.
With nothing else to do but wait, Sky begins to hum, little nonsense tunes that help keep his mind from dwelling too deeply on the current situation.
.
.
.
The rustling of leaves catches his attention. He’s careful not to falter in his humming, though, in case it’s little Legend finally coming out of hiding. Any sudden changes could send him right back into the cover of the bushes, and then they’d have to start all over again.
Slowly, falteringly, a presence comes to settle nearby. Sky keeps humming, slipping into the Ballad of the Goddess almost instinctually.
As the last note fades, he slowly turns to look at who - or what - joined him. She’s greeted with soft pink hair and a dirty green tunic. Large violet eyes blink up at her from a small, pale face.
Sky gives a soft smile, very carefully not moving. “Hey there, I’m Sky. You must’ve been pretty spooked earlier, huh? I’m sorry about that. Are you alright?”
Legend (could they even call him that right now? Should they?) stares at him warily. He’s still several feet away, noticeably out of grabbing range, the older hero realizes. His heart aches again.
He waits for a few moments but no reply comes. Eventually he takes a deep breath and pushes himself to his feet. Legend watches closely the entire time. Sky pats himself down before holding out a hand to the younger.
“Do you want to come back with me? It can’t be very nice staying out here in the woods all by yourself.”
More silent staring, though this time it seems to be more like the boy before him is thinking, not frightened. The child (because unless Legend is still recovering from... whatever that was, that seems to be the case) hesitantly reaches out before quickly retracting his hand. Sky keeps his disappointment and worry well away from his face and pulls his hand back with an easy smile.
“That’s fine. Do you want to just stay behind me, then?” He hopes Legend follows; she’s not going to leave him all alone in the woods, even if it takes all night, but by the Goddess does she hope he decides to go with her back to the others. Not only would it keep the rest of them from getting any more worried than they most certainly already are, it would also give them the chance to see if he’s injured in any way.
...Also it would keep Wolfie from having to track them down and potentially scaring Legend back into hiding or running again.
Her hopes are granted when Legend nods and stands, holding his hands close to his chest as he waits for her to start moving.
The older hero does so, waving a hand in a ‘follow me’ gesture. Her ears flick back at quiet, shuffling footsteps behind her and she smiles. The two of them make their way back through the woods, the younger staying carefully out of sight but not straying, to the elder’s relief.
Eventually they find the road again; Sky can just see their companions through the trees. The closer they get, though, the closer Legend draws, despite his earlier hesitation. When they finally leave the cover of the trees Sky feels small hands grasp onto her pant leg and cling.
The other heroes are still where she left them, split between milling aimlessly about and standing together in small groups and chatting quietly, all of them sporting worried expressions. She has to suppress a snort; after all, if she was in their shoes she’d be doing the same thing. A hero’s spirit is not one for idleness when there is something to be done.
Still, she did suggest something they could do before she left, and a sudden surge of mischievousness brings a smirk to her face. She lays a gentle hand against little Legend’s back to reassure him as she calls out, “I thought I told you guys to make camp! I’m gone what, an hour? And I come back to find you all wandering around like headless cuckoos!”
As expected they start at her voice, some of them, like Twilight, flushing in embarrassment while others look indignant. There’s a tiny snort of laughter from the boy at her side and Sky feels pride blossom in his chest at the sound. He flashes the others a smile to show he doesn’t mean the words and they relax.
All of that falls away, though, when they spot the tiny shadow at his side. Instantly the worry and concern is back and a few of them start forwards as if to rush over and see him for themselves. Sky gives them a Look and they immediately back down. A protective Hylia’s Chosen is not one to be messed with.
After a moment to make sure they’re behaving themselves, Sky nudges his companion. Bright eyes look up at him warily, and he gives him another reassuring pat.
“Do you want to go say hi?” he asks quietly. “They won’t hurt you, if that’s what you’re worried about. And,” he adds, seeing the nervousness and fear creeping back over that small face, “if anyone does something you don’t like, they’ll have to deal with me.”
Shocked surprise replaces the fright before the boy gives a nod. A tiny spark of trust appears in those violet orbs and Sky’s heart swells.
“Alright then,” he smiles. He leads him over to where the rest of the Chain wait in anticipation, keeping a gentle hand on his back the whole way. Thankfully it seems the older heroes have the younger ones under control - Wars has a hand clamped on Wind and Hyrule’s shoulders while Twilight does the same with Wild. Four hovers next to Time, his own eyes sparking purple as he watches them approach.
Sky stops several feet away, a tug on his pant leg alerting him that they’re getting too close for tiny Legend’s comfort. Everyone forms a circle, and he can tell they’re trying their best not to stare.
“Okay,” he starts. “Time for some introductions, I think. I already told you my name, I’m Sky.” Legend nods. Sky smiles at him and gestures to the hero on her left to introduce themselves.
Hyrule starts at the motion before he nods, coughing and clearing his throat. “U-um. Hi. Y-you can call me Hyrule.” They give a meek little wave that Legend shyly returns. There’s a sudden chorus of coos that quickly stifle themselves when Sky casts a glance around.
Warriors goes next- and Legend startles badly enough Sky can feel it. She keeps her hand on his back in the hopes it’ll keep him grounded, and it seems to work because he doesn’t run again. The introductions continue.
With every name, he presses closer and closer to Sky’s leg, clutching his pants with tiny hands. His expression becomes more worrisome, brows drawing together and little ears flickering as he mouths each name. When they’re finished, he swallows, looking up at Sky then back at the group.
Then he speaks, and it’s a quiet, murmured, “‘m Legend. I know you.”
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