Summary: Eight times Sky receives a gratitude crystal from the chain plus one time he gives some away. Twilight's turn :D
I said I was going to wait to post these on AO3 BUT I changed my mind XD. So here's the AO3 link.
Part 1. Art for part 1!! Art for part 2!!
“Hyah!” Twilight yelled as Epona galloped past.
A whoosh of air made Sky’s sailcloth flutter and the stomps of the goats barreling into the barn echoed in his ears. He scooted closer to Colin.
“So…” Colin trailed off uncertainly.
Sky glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow. He consciously tried to relax his muscles and make his body language as unintimidating as he could.
“So?” Sky asked lightly.
“You’re a hero too? Like Link?” Colin asked.
“I am,” Sky said. He fought to keep the reluctance out of his voice. Colin didn’t need to be subjected to Sky’s true feelings about his place in the world.
“From far away, though,” Sky said.
“I’ve been to Kakariko! That’s pretty far,” Colin said.
Sky smiled. “A lot farther than that.”
“Woah,” Colin said.
One of the goats stomped past and Sky gulped. He pulled his sailcloth tighter around his shoulders for comfort and leaned even closer towards Colin.
“Are you scared?” Colin asked.
“A little,” Sky answered with a chuckle.
“What? How are you afraid of the goats?” Colin asked.
“We don’t have big animals like goats or horses where I’m from, besides our Loftwings. I get nervous around them.”
“Oh. Huh,” Colin mumbled. “You must be from really far.”
Sky laughed and nodded. “Really far,” he agreed.
Colin looked like he wanted to ask more questions, and Sky wasn’t sure how much Twilight wanted him to know, so he quickly changed the subject.
“From what your brother has said, it sounds like you’re a hero, too,” Sky said.
Colin blushed and straightened his back. “I- not like Link. I’m not the hero, or anything. But I did save my friend, once.”
“Oh yeah?” Sky asked.
“Mhm,” Colin mumbled. “I pushed her out of the way of a giant bullbos. It grabbed me instead of her.”
“I wasn’t scared,” Colin said. “Heroes don’t get scared. Link isn’t afraid of anything.”
Sky wasn’t willing to tarnish Colin’s image of Twilight, even if Sky knew his fears. More than once, Twilight had woken up panicked from nightmares and Sky was the one to comfort him. Twilight always worried over the others, so he tried to take care of them in whatever ways he could. And, most of all, Sky knew Twilight worried about his little brother.
“I get scared,” Sky said. “Sometimes. But being brave is about doing hard things even when you’re scared.”
“I wasn’t scared,” Colin said. His ears flattened against his head and the tips turned pink. His gaze was locked on the last goat running towards the barn.
“I believe you,” Sky said. “Thank you for telling me.”
The slam of the barn door startled Sky. Twilight fastened the lock then turned Epona to gallop over to where Sky and Colin were sitting. They both rose to their feet and Sky clapped for him.
“All in,” Twilight said.
“Yes!” Colin cheered.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Sky said. The tips of Twilight’s ears turned pink as he jumped off his horse with a wide grin.
“It ain’t hard, once you learn how to do it,” Twilight said, his accent thick.
Twilight’s accent was stronger in the last few days of being in Ordon than Sky had heard throughout their entire journey. Sky wondered if he realized, or if it was subconscious. Sky also worried he was toning it down on purpose around them. He would have to make sure to ask Twilight about that, later.
“Tomorrow, we should take Sky to feed the goats,” Colin said.
Sky blinked in surprise. “What?”
Twilight grinned and slung an arm around Colin’s shoulder. Colin pretended to look annoyed, but Sky didn’t miss the way he leaned into Twilight’s side.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Twilight said. “Our Skyloftian isn’t too fond of ‘em.”
“That’s why we have to show him how to feed them! They always let me pet them when they get their food,” Colin said.
Twilight glanced uncertainly towards Sky, clearly torn between not wanting to push Sky and appeasing his brother. Sky swallowed his fear and pulled back his shoulders.
“I’d love to join,” Sky said. “Besides, you won’t let anything happen to me. Right, Colin?”
“Of course not!” Twilight said. “You’ve got the two heroes of Hyrule right here! You’ll be perfectly safe.”
Colin beamed up at his brother as Twilight squeezed his shoulder. Sky held back an awww with monumental effort.
“We best be heading back now,” Twilight said.
“Oh! Oh! Can I take Epona?” Colin asked.
“Sure you can, so long as you’re careful,” Twilight said.
“Yes!” Colin said. He was able to pull himself into Epona’s saddle, though Twilight’s hands hovered just in case he fell.
“Hyah!” Colin yelled as he flicked Epona’s reins. She galloped towards the gate and jumped over at the last second, then thundered down the path. Sky and Twilight followed at a much more leisurely pace.
“Thanks for comin’,” Twilight said. “I like to give Fado the night off, when I can.”
Sky glanced over and saw the beginnings of a gratitude crystal forming over Twilight’s head. Sky felt a warmth spread through him. He knew how much spending time together meant to Twilight.
“Thanks for asking me to. I’ve never seen goats before,” Sky said. “And talking to your brother was nice.”
“Thanks for doing that, too,” Twilight said. The beginnings of the crystal pulsed, doubling in size. “He doesn’t meet strangers often.”
“He’s a cool kid,” Sky said.
“You really want to feed the goats tomorrow?” Twilight asked.
Sky shrugged. “Sure. Colin seemed excited about it. And I know how much you love your goats, farm boy.”
Twilight laughed and the gratitude crystal burst to life above Twilight’s head. Sky laughed along with him as the crystal floated down to his chest and filled him with his favorite feeling of warmth. Sky bounced on his toes and skipped a few paces, then bounced back next to Twilight.
Sky reached out and grabbed Twilight's hand, loosely enough that he could pull away if he wanted to. Twilight was never one to deny physical touch, in Sky’s experience. Twilight squeezed his hand and gave Sky a wide smile as Sky swung their arms.
“The goats may look big and scary, but they’d never hurt a fly,” Twilight said. “Just don’t try to take their food.”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Summary: Sky takes Hyrule to the Lumpy Pumpkin. 1.2k, fluff.
Thank you to @rastro-writes for the idea for this chapter!!!
"Hold on!" Sky yelled over his shoulder.
Hyrule's already tight grip around his torso tightened to a nearly crushing level. The position of Hyrule's arms under his was making his undershirt fabric rub against and irritate his scars, but it wasn't enough to be more than mildly distracting. Especially since the alternative was Hyrule potentially falling off his loftwing, Sky happily accepted his fate.
Sky whistled a low tune, signaling for Crimson to loop and land. Crimson squawked his agreement and flapped his wings to soar upwards. After gaining enough height, Crimson screeched enthusiastically and twisted into a loop. Sky whooped in laughter and Hyrule screamed as the loftwing twisted, dove, then leveled off right above Pumpkin Landing.
Sky whistled again so Crimson would land on the island. He did so begrudgingly, shaking and fluffing his feathers as soon as he touched the ground.
"Thanks, buddy." Sky gave Crimson a hearty pat on the neck as he slid off the side of the saddle. He turned to offer Hyrule a hand and couldn't help but giggle at his windswept hair and awestruck expression.
"That," Hyrule accepted Sky's hand and slid off Crimson onto shaking legs. "Was awesome!"
Hyrule had a spark of gratitude floating above his head almost constantly. It was one of the things Sky found most endearing- and most heartbreaking- about Hyrule. The sparks wiggled in Crimson’s direction, today.
Sky's grin widened and he laughed gleefully. "Right? Crimson's pretty great."
Crimson squawked his agreement and pecked at Sky's hair.
"Between you and me," Sky said, leaning towards Hyrule with a hand between his mouth and Crimson, "I think he was showing off."
Crimson pecked at his hair in annoyance and Sky laughed as he pushed him away.
"It worked," Hyrule said. He gave Crimson a few strokes on the feathers on his chest, and Crimson fluffed them out happily.
"Alright, you can go now. I'll call you back soon." Sky whistled the tune for Crimson to leave, as well. Sky was never sure how much of their communication was verbal, through the whistles, or through the intentions of their soul bond. No matter how it worked, it worked very well. Crimson understood the message and squawked a greeting before he shook out his feathers and darted into the sky.
"Bye!" Hyrule waved.
"Welcome to the Lumpy Pumpkin!" Sky turned and raised his arms to show off the large, pumpkin-shaped building.
"Wow. That sure is a big pumpkin," Hyrule said. "Is this the surprise?"
"Well, yes, I wanted to bring you here so you can try the soup ‘cause I need more people on my pumpkin soup superiority team. But that’s not the surprise.”
With carefully projected movements, giving Hyrule plenty of time to choose to move away, Sky looped his arm around Hyrule’s and led them around the building towards the back. Hyrule gleefully let himself be pulled along, humming to himself as they walked. When they reached the stairs and the pumpkin patch came into view, Hyrule gasped.
“There’s so many!” Hyrule’s wide eyes roamed from edge to edge of the island. “This has to be the surprise, right?”
Sky giggled. “Sort of? Over here!”
Sky pulled Hyrule to the workstation set against the ledge beside the stairs. The pumpkin farmers were hard at work with the second season harvest. The climate on Skyloft was stable enough that they could get two harvests a year of the hardy plants like pumpkins, which was why it was such a staple of their diet. Sky dearly missed pumpkin dishes while traveling and always made a point to take as much as he was allowed when he had the opportunity.
“Kina!” Sky called, waving with his free hand.
Kina turned and smiled at Sky. Her hands were buried in a pumpkin. “Link! It’s been a while.”
“I’ve been traveling,” Sky shrugged noncommittally. He gently tugged Hyrule a little closer to his side. “This is my friend Hyrule. Hyrule, this is Kina.”
“Hello,” Hyrule said with a small wave.
“I haven’t seen you around before.” Kina narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Uh…” Hyrule glanced nervously at Sky. Sky patted his arm and smiled.
“He doesn’t get out much. Anyway, Kina, I was wondering if you had any extra pumpkin seeds?” Sky asked.
“Hm, we should have some. Big harvest this season. You can take some from that basket.” Kina inclined her head to point.
“Amazing. Thank you so much, Kina,” Sky said. He pulled Hyrule towards the basket and scooped out a handful of seeds. He carefully poured the seeds into an empty bottle, letting the ones that missed fall back into the basket. The bottle wasn’t quite full. Sky glanced at Kina to make sure she wasn’t looking, then poured a second handful into the bottle.
One handful of seeds wouldn’t mean the difference between starving or not, Sky reasoned to himself, but they very well could determine the success of a new pumpkin patch.
Sky corked the bottle and looped his arm through Hyrule’s again. “Thanks Kina!”
“Bye, now!” She called in return.
Sky pulled Hyrule back up the stairs and around the side of the Lumpy Pumpkin. He turned and held the bottle out to Hyrule. Hyrule looked at the bottle, then back at Sky with a blank expression.
“These are for you,” Sky said. Hyrule gasped and whipped up to meet Sky’s gaze. Sky held the eye contact for as long as he could, then wiggled uncomfortably and looked back down at the bottle. He pushed it into Hyrule’s hands.
“For… me? Sky, are you sure? This is a lot of seeds, I can’t accept this-”
“You can and you will,” Sky interrupted. “You heard Kina, we had a big harvest. Skyloft will be fine.”
“Okay, if you’re sure…” Hyrule gently took the bottle and held it up to inspect the seeds. “Uh, what do I do with them?”
“Well, I’ve noticed how much you enjoy the pumpkin meals me, Wild, and Twilight have made. Pumpkins are one of our hardiest crops, so they should be able to grow in any environment.”
Hyrule glanced between Sky and the seeds, connecting the dots in his head.
“You can start your own garden. I can show you how to plant them next time we’re in your era. There are a few other plants I think will be good, so we have a few more stops to make. After we get soup.”
As Sky spoke, Hyrule’s smile widened. By the time he was finished, Hyrule had a huge grin on his face and was looking at the seeds with clear excitement in his expression. Sky’s grin matched Hyrule’s and he bounced on his toes in excitement.
“Sky, that’s… I don’t know what to say.”
“Do you like it?” Sky asked.
Hyrule barrelled into Sky, wrapping his arms around Sky’s chest and hugging him as tight as he could. Sky laughed happily and had to resist the urge to spin in glee as he hugged Hyrule back.
“I love it,” Hyrule said. His voice sounded thick with unshed tears. Sky chose not to draw attention to it.
Sky heard the melodious pop of a gratitude crystal bursting into existence. Sky hugged Hyrule even more tightly as he felt the crystal travel to his chest and its warmth filled his body. He started swaying lightly from side to side, content to let Hyrule hug as long as he wanted to. There was nowhere else Sky would rather be.
Stormy!!! (Still your nickname right?) I just got the notification for Recharge and literally dropped things to go read it.
Aaaaahhhhh! Poor Wild, he doesn’t understand why everyone is upset with the ‘facts’ of the world for him.
Fun insight as to why Sky is acting the way he is. ♥️
Lovely chapter, just wanted to gush at you about it.
Yup! I still go by Stormy. Ehehehe, I always forget how much people love Recharge.
Yeah, I was kind of worried that people would think Sky was being OOC, but I always write him as autistic even if I don't mention it in the tags or notes. In this situation, he's being faced with the fact that his beloved Fi is willing to resort to harmful measures to carry out her mission--she isn't as good/noble as he thought she was--and someone else he loves--Wild has to pay for it.
This situation is hitting Sky where it hurts: he's lost the Master Sword, he nearly lost Wild (I headcanon that Sky and Wild are especially connected/close), he's tense, stressed, wound up, and struggling to handle all the big emotions and unpleasant thoughts he's having, so of course hes going to need extra time alone to process everything and when he's faced with some of the other Links being contrary or even confrontational, he's letting his emotions drive what he says and does.
His behavior makes sense when I spell it out like this, but it is a little hard to portray in a fic with 9 main characters, and when my natural tendency is to tell stories is primarily by showing outward behavior and spoken words and not including people's internal dialogue (3rd person limited pov).
