The cat’s out of the bag chapter 9
https://archiveofourown.org/works/52017334/chapters/178216111#workskin
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Back again with that fic that keeps giving me grief lol, why does it keep getting longerrrr. this was originally going to only be half a chapter, but then people kept TALKING so now it’s a whole chapter. Oops. On the bright side, I have half of the next one already done! Hopefully it won’t take as long to finish up...
We’re going back in time a little for the first bit here, but then it syncs up with everything else :]
(and a little warning for a brief description of past animal death, but it’s nothing too bad)
Chapter 8 | Next (coming soon)
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Twilight and Four walked through the woods together, Twilight’s namesake darkening the world around them. Wild was humming under his breath in Twilight’s arms, but it only added to the peaceful atmosphere of the woods, birds quieting down for the night, a few errant fireflies drifting around.
The others had gotten ahead of them just like Warriors had predicted, and Twilight felt impatience simmer under his skin as they trooped along. He wasn’t resentful of carrying Wild— in fact, it was pretty comforting having him in his arms, being able to hear him breathing steadily after the scare they’d had. But it was definitely slowing them down, and fear for Wind was baying at Twilight’s heels like a whole pack of wolfos.
Familiar dread and worry like what had hounded him on his entire quest churned in his stomach and spun in his head, and Twilight tried to speed his steps again. Wind had to be okay.
He had to.
“You think the others have found anything?” Four spoke up suddenly, looking up at the rapidly darkening sky. He’d attempted conversation a few times before now, but Twilight was focused on moving, and Wild had mostly slept, blood loss taking its toll. “I bet they’ve made it to the river by now.”
Twilight shrugged in response. “Dunno.”
“I bet so,” Wild spoke up quietly, awake from his latest catnap (oh Twilight’s chest hurt). “Hyrule’s good at tracking.”
“Not as good as you or the rancher,” Four said with a faint smile, and Wild let out a tired chuckle.
“Guess so. Wolfie has us both beat, though.”
Twilight couldn’t help but wince at the reminder of Warriors’ angry words that the comment brought to mind. Though they’d already been tumbling endlessly around his head since he’d heard them anyway, so it didn’t change much.
Four didn’t reply to Wild’s comment, and things were silent among them again, nothing but the distant noise of the river and crunch of grass and leaves underfoot. It was going to be a cool night, Twilight thought. The air felt like it.
Is Sky out there somewhere freezing?
“Rancher?”
Twilight glanced at Wild, and saw him giving him a scrutinizing look, one he didn’t like the look of. He turned his head away, and Wild made a grumbly noise when he didn’t respond.
“...Twi. Come on. Knock it off with the blame,” he said quietly.
“It’s my fault this happened,” Twilight said in a low voice.
Wild huffed. “It’s not.”
“It is.”
“It’s not.”
“Wild—”
“It’s not.”
“...I’m not doing this.”
“Well, I am,” Wild said cheerfully, then winced when he moved a little too fast. “So... too bad.”
Twilight looked at him in concern, but Wild just shook his head and leaned on Twilight a little more.
“C’mon Rancher. You can’t just keep moping,” he said, and Twilight looked at the ground.
“Champion, please. The captain was right, just... drop it,” Twilight murmured.
Wild made a huffy noise. “Ugh, he had to open his big mouth... look,” Wild said, looking up at him with a crease of pain on his face. “Even if it is your fault... which it’s not... being all broody isn’t going to fix it.”
“He must think it will, since it’s all he’s been doing,” Four mentioned from further ahead, a teasing lilt in his voice. Twilight glared at him, but Four didn’t turn around.
“We’ve all made bad mistakes,” Wild continued, more quietly now. “Some... pretty big ones. I get it. And I’m scared for him too. But you can’t change the past. We just have to move forward, and do what we can today.”
Twilight and Four both stopped and stared at him for a moment.
“Great Ordona, when did you get all wise on me?” Twilight said, and Wild smirked.
“Too many good influences or something. But seriously rancher, this is like... fifteen percent your fault. The other eighty-five is a combination of bad luck and Wind being stupid.”
“You can’t blame Wind for this,” Twilight immediately rebuffed, and Wild gave him a flat look.
“We all told him multiple times to stay back if there was a fight, and he jumped into it anyway. He gets at least a little blame,” he said pointedly, his voice more tired than before.
Twilight gave him a look, and carefully adjusted his grip, the champion’s face still scrunched. Wild relaxed a little, and closed his eyes again.
“All right. He gets a little blame,” Twilight conceded. If he wasn’t so sick with worry, he probably would be pretty annoyed at the sailor. “He was just trying to help, though. And I’m just... Hyrule’s world is so dangerous. And Wind is so defenseless right now, I can’t help being concerned, what if... what if he’s...”
He couldn’t finish the thought.
“I don’t know,” Four answered quietly, and it was then that Twilight realized how tense the smithy looked. He’d been staying pretty upbeat during their traveling, but Twilight abruptly realized it must have mostly been for his benefit. “We just have to hope that he’s okay. Wind is smart, and capable. I have faith in him.”
Twilight swallowed, and nodded. He did have faith in Wind, but as a Hylian, not a tiny cat who’d fallen off a cliff.
A memory came to mind from when Twilight had been little, a storm that had gone through and swelled the stream in Ordon so much it nearly flooded a few houses. Afterwards, while Twilight had been poking around, he’d found a drowned kitten on the edge of the stream, a tiny, soaked scrap of fur. It was the first time Twilight had ever seen death firsthand, and he’d gone to Rusl in tears, asking him to fix it.
Rusl had gently explained it wasn’t something he could fix, much to Twilight’s dismay. He’d given as much of an explanation of death as he could, then helped Twilight dig a small grave for the kitten under a tree.
That incident had stuck with Twilight all his life, but now all he could think of was Wind in a similar position, waterlogged fur and dull eyes, body still and cold.
The sick feeling in his stomach lurched, but Twilight swallowed it back as best as he could, and took a shaky breath in, then out, banishing the memory and his terror from his mind. If Wind was alive, thinking like that wouldn’t help him. It wouldn’t help anything.
If he was going to make up for his mistake, he needed to stop thinking about what might have happened, and figure out what did.
“You’re right,” Twilight said softly, tilting his head towards Wild. “We need to focus on finding Wind. And I... can’t change what happened. We need to focus on Wind, not ‘what-ifs’.”
“Well let’s keep moving then,” Four said, still looking worried, but with equal determination now. “It’s not too dark to travel yet. Let’s make the most of it.”
“Maybe we can still help search,” Wild said hopefully, and Twilight snorted, lightly ruffling his hair as they continued through the woods.
“We can. Not you, buddy.”
“We’ll see,” Wild mumbled with a smirk, but his eyes were drooping, and he fell asleep again a few moments later.
Twilight smiled down at him as Four chuckled nearby, then looked out at the woods, his brief amusement fading.
He knew this was his fault. Wild could argue with him about it all he liked, but Wind wouldn’t be a cat, wouldn’t be vulnerable, and wouldn’t have fallen off that cliff if it weren’t for Twilight being so insistent on keeping his secret.
This was Twilight’s fault.
And he was going to fix it.
(...)
It was properly dark by the time Twilight and Four finally reached the river, the thin crescent moon casting tiny silver ripples across the water.
Wild snored quietly in his arms, and Four perked up as they drew near the river, a familiar noise reaching their ears. Twilight heard the talking before he saw the small campfire, and the shadows of rest of their group rose around it, voices raised. It sounded like they were arguing.
“...Haven’t checked everywhere yet, we should go further downstream,” Warriors’ voice said, and Twilight heard Time sigh.
“It’s too dark, Captain, we might miss something,” he said, and as Twilight drew closer he saw Warriors grimace, looking away from him. “I’m worried about him as well. But we aren’t getting anywhere in the dark.”
“We can’t just give up on him!” Legend spoke up.
“We’re not giving up on him, I’m merely—”
“We can’t leave him,” Warriors pleaded, voice more worried than Twilight had heard in a long time. “Time, what if he’s...”
Time sighed again. “I know. But I just don’t think— ah, rancher, smithy.”
Everyone gathered around the campfire looked up as the two of them walked over, and Four gave a little wave. Twilight didn’t look at Warriors.
“Any luck?” Twilight asked the group, and the relieved looks brightened by the fire faded.
“We just got back from searching, we scoured the immediate area. No sign of him,” Legend reported, head resting on a hand as he poked at the sandy dirt with a stick. “Not so much as a pawprint.”
“We’ve been making a gradually bigger circle, but... nothing,” Hyrule added softly.
Twilight sighed, and nodded as he lowered himself to the ground, Wild’s head lolling. The champion had fallen asleep more deeply than before, and Twilight was glad to see it. He badly needed the rest.
Wild’s cry as the ax had hit him, Wind’s terrified eyes, the blood by Sky’s footprints—
“How’s Wild?” Hyrule asked softly as Twilight readjusted him, and Four shrugged.
“Exhausted. Dealing with blood loss. The same as earlier, really. Though apparently blood loss gives him a heck of an ability to give pep talks,” the smithy observed with a faint smile.
Hyrule huffed a quiet laugh, and he helped Twilight get out Wild’s bedroll, then get the champion settled in a way that his arm wouldn’t be unduly stressed. Twilight set his pelt over Wild when he finished, the champion’s skin still much too cold, and brushed a hand over his forehead, reassuring himself one more time that Wild was okay.
Then he stood, and stretched.
“I know that look,” Time said in a warning voice, looking intently at him. “It’s late, Twilight, and we’ve already done a lot of searching.”
Twilight crossed his arms. “You all have. I haven’t. I might notice something you all missed,” he said pointedly. “We haven’t found Wind, and it’s not pitch black out here yet. I’m going.”
“All right,” Time acquiesced, holding his hands out. He seemed to have sensed that it wasn’t an argument he would win. “One more search. But then we’re done for the night, no buts.”
Twilight and the others nodded. He’d be happy enough with that.
Warriors cleared his throat then, and they all looked at him. “We should split up, make more progress. Two people can stay to watch Wild, and the rest of us can go by twos as well, one duo downstream, the other up. We’ll cover more ground,” he said, and Time nodded.
“That seems wise. Any volunteers to stay?”
“I’ll stay,” Hyrule spoke up, raising his hand. “I want to try and draw a map of the area anyway, I can watch Wild at the same time.”
“I’ll stay and help,” Legend said, to Twilight’s surprise. He would’ve thought Legend would be chomping at the bit to keep looking. “With Wild and the map.”
“All right then. Let’s meet back here in no more than an hour. Smithy? Let’s go upstream,” Time said casually, and Four nodded. Then he paused, glancing over at Twilight with a raised eyebrow, and then shrugged and moved over to Time.
Twilight froze as he realized who that would leave him to search with, but Time only smiled, a glint of mischief in his eye.
And then left before Twilight could protest the choice of duos.
Really old man? Warriors? Twilight inwardly groaned, fighting the urge to massage the bridge of his nose. Did you forget that whole big argument from a few hours ago?
...Actually, that was probably why Time had dumped them together.
Thanks a lot, old man.
Twilight glanced at the captain as Time and Four disappeared upstream, and Warriors sighed, and stood up. He turned and started downstream without a word, and Twilight grimaced.
“Uh... good luck?” Legend said as Hyrule moved to sit by Wild, and Twilight let out a bitter chuckle.
“Thanks,” he replied, then followed after the captain.
We’re gonna need it.
It seemed much darker away from the campfire, but once Twilight’s eyes adjusted again, it wasn’t too bad. The moon was thin, but the stars were bright, and Twilight’s slight night vision gave him an edge. But even with all of that, Twilight didn’t want to miss clues or signs that Wind had come this way, and so he went for his lantern.
Twilight tugged it from his pack, using a precious bit of oil to light it. A circle of light spread out, brightening the night and sparkling off the water and catching on dewy grass, and Twilight glanced at Warriors.
The captain ignored him.
Twilight sighed and scanned the riverbank intently, looking for any hint of Wind having come this direction as they walked. The captain was obviously pretending he wasn’t there, having not spoken a word the entire trip, and Twilight tried not to be hurt. He did kind of deserve it.
A few crickets chirped softly as they walked past some bushes, Twilight listening intently. The river and their footsteps were the only other noises he picked up though, even though he kept his ears pricked for any meowing or other sounds. But aside from a few bugs and an owl at one point, there was nothing.
No sign of Wind.
Twilight looked at Warriors again, but the captain didn’t look back at Twilight, didn’t acknowledge him, didn’t check to see if he was following or not. Just marched on ahead, scanning the ground, but in a way that made it seem like he’d already checked this section. He must have searched it earlier.
The blatant cold shoulder made Twilight bristle uncomfortably, and he tried not to dwell on it. Their argument from earlier was still sharp in Twilight’s mind, and he was just fine with keeping his distance. Even if it did hurt.
The silence between him and Warriors seem to only get worse the longer they went though, and Twilight fidgeted as Warriors slowed down to look a little more intently. They must have reached the point past where the others had searched earlier.
“You see anything?” Twilight asked, cautiously breaking the silence.
“No.”
Warriors didn’t elaborate, and the silence dragged like a physical weight as they continued along the shore. Twilight did his best to ignore it again as pebbles clicked under his boots, focusing on looking for any sign of Wind, but he could practically feel Warriors’ anger in the air around them and it was incredibly distracting.
And he’d had enough.
“Captain,” he said finally, unable to bear the frosty silence a minute longer. Warriors only flicked an ear. “Captain, look, we— would you stop for a second?”
Warriors paused, scarf rippling from the movement, and Twilight crossed his arms as he looked at him.
“I’m sorry for not telling you, okay?” he said. Warriors stilled. “I get it. I’d be upset too.”
Warriors didn’t move, didn’t turn to face him.
Twilight breathed in, frustration and worry making him feel sick. “I know you’re mad. It’s my fault Wind is in this mess at all, I’ll take the responsibility for it. Spirits know it’s already been haunting me. And I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness and I don’t expect it, but can you put your mood aside for now so we can focus on finding Wind? Then you can go back to being as furious at me as you like.”
Warriors rested a hand on a tree trunk beside him, and he lowered his head with a sigh, rubbing his forehead.
“I’m not... furious with you,” he finally admitted in a quiet voice, and Twilight raised an eyebrow. Could’ve fooled me. “I’m merely... frustrated.”
“Oh, well, that’s way better,” Twilight said flatly. “Frustrated.”
“Not just at you, okay?” Warriors snapped, finally looking at Twilight. “At just— just this whole thing. I’m frustrated at you, and frustrated at Wind for not staying back when we told him to, and at Sky’s disappearance and your necklace and whatever reason you don’t want to talk about it, and just... everything. I hate it. I hate feeling so powerless and I hate not knowing if Wind and Sky are even alive or not.”
He breathed in, and Twilight heard the noise wobble.
“I know I shouldn’t take it out on you. And I know it wouldn’t fix everything. But I just wish you’d told us.”
Warriors’ voice was a little thick, and Twilight sighed, and scratched the back of his neck.
Well. He could certainly relate to all of that. He was pretty darn frustrated too.
And sick with worry over Wind and Sky, unable to get the sound out of his ears of Wind’s terrified cry as he’d dropped, or the sight of the ruined clearing where Sky had obviously fought—
“Well... I’m sorry for not telling you,” Twilight said finally. “And everyone. I really was going to. Things just... kept happening, and the longer it went, the easier it was to just go with it. And...”
He hesitated, and Warriors looked at him again, eyes flickering in the lantern light.
“...And?” he asked quietly.
“That... form,” Twilight began, just as quietly. “A wolf. They’re not exactly well-liked animals, and it’s... not been received well, in the past. I didn’t want that to happen again.” The scar on his back ached, and he snorted. “Uh, obviously that backfired. But uh, I guess it’s good that it’s out now.”
It was sort of a relief, even if it hadn’t been how he’d wanted to do it.
The captain kept looking at him without saying anything, but there was something in his expression now, something that hadn’t been there before. Twilight thought it was sympathy at a first glance, but then he shifted the lantern, and realized it was something more like guilt.
“You were afraid to share it because of how it’s been received, and I yelled at you,” he said blankly.
“Uh... kinda yeah,” Twilight shrugged.
The guilty look in his eyes got even brighter, and Twilight felt a mean flicker of satisfaction at the sight. He stuffed it away immediately, ashamed at the vindication, and busied himself with adding a bit more oil to his lamp.
“It’s water under the bridge, Captain. Let’s just focus on finding Wind,” Twilight said with a sigh that came out more shakily then he’d wanted it to. He was sick of secrets and arguments. He just wanted to find Wind safe and sound, and Sky, and get the sailor back to normal.
And apologize for putting him through all of this.
...Please spirits, let him be alive.
Warriors hesitated at Twilight’s words, then nodded as he lowered his head.
“That... seems wise. And for the record, Rancher, I... I don’t hate you. Or your other form. And I apologize if it came off that way. I just want to find Wind,” he said in a whisper.
Twilight paused at the shine in Warriors’ eyes, then nodded, briefly patting his shoulder. “I want to find him too. Let’s... let’s focus on that.”
Warriors swallowed, and didn’t say anything for a moment.
Then he breathed out, and straightened his shoulders.
“Right. We’re nearing where our traveler said there were rapids,” Warriors continued with a shake, putting off the vulnerability of a few moments ago and slipping into business mode. “If Wind was able to get out of the river he’d do it here. But if he isn’t around here, then... I don’t know where we’ll look.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Twilight replied with a determined look, and they finally resumed their trek down the river, the atmosphere lighter than before. It wasn’t... perfect, by any means, but at least Twilight didn’t feel like Warriors would jump on him at any moment.
...And it was nice to know the captain didn’t hate him.
The two of them came to a slightly skinnier section of river, the last part before the current turned frothy with rocks that stuck out of the water. The thought of Wind being sucked down into that current and battered against the stones threatened to make him ill, and Twilight quickly turned his attention to searching.
He scanned the undergrowth carefully, checking the rocks and sand on the ground for any sign of disturbance. Warriors did the same nearby, and as the two of them scanned the shoreline, water rushing, moon rising, night inching on. Twilight’s back began to ache from being hunched over. All that time carrying Wild probably wasn’t helping, not to mention the bruises from the fight earlier.
He hasn’t realized it until now, but he was actually pretty exhausted.
Twilight straightened with a wince after a while, rubbing his spine as he looked out at the river. The moon was higher now, still sending silver sparkles onto the ripples in the water, and Twilight admired it for a moment. They really were pretty, even if he was frustrated and tired and nauseous with worry. The way the moonlight caught the little ripples and sparkled a bit, and contrasted with the shadows from the branch that was stuck in some rocks—
Twilight froze.
Without hesitation he scrambled into the water, ignoring Warriors’ question behind him, and was nearly waist-deep before he could reach out and grab the branch.
And there, stuck on a bit of bark, was a small tuft of pale yellow fur with a dash of blood on the tip.
Twilight wasn’t sure whether to be elated or terrified.
“What? Did you find something?” Warriors asked urgently as Twilight turned back towards shore. Twilight wordlessly sloshed back, and showed Warriors what he’d found.
Warriors froze, and stared at it.
“That must be Wind’s,” he breathed, almost reverently picking up the tuft as Twilight waded out of the water with a small shiver. “Where was it?”
“Stuck on that branch,” Twilight said, gesturing to it. “And I saw claw marks, it looks like Wind might’ve grabbed it, possibly used it to climb out of the water.”
Warriors exhaled with more relief than Twilight had ever heard from him in the time they’d known each other. “That means he’s alive.”
“Maybe,” Twilight cautioned. He was thrilled by the discovery, but was also afraid to get his hopes up. “The scratches might have been from something else. I can’t tell for sure. If was him though, I think he would’ve come out on the other side. We’d have to check the other shore for signs of him.”
“And the current is too quick here to safely swim,” Warriors scowled, and kicked at the rocks.
“I can’t see a good spot for clawshots either,” Twilight added, and they both grimaced.
“It... looks like we’ll have to come back when it’s light out.”
“Looks like it.”
Neither of them moved.
Twilight frowned, looking across at the darkened shore, then cupped his hands around his mouth.
“WIND?! YOU OUT THERE?!” he yelled, and he and Warriors listened for a few moments.
Nothing.
Twilight swallowed, and looked at Warriors. The captain was rubbing the tuft of fur between his fingers, not seeming to care about the half-dried blood he was smearing around, and Twilight saw him smooth his thumb over the fur. Then he sighed, and closed his hand around it.
“We... need to tell the others about this,” he said finally, breathing out. “Wind obviously isn’t close. It’s too dark to search any more, and we can’t risk stumbling on any monsters. We’re not in good shape.”
“Wind might not be either,” Twilight said quietly, and Warriors swallowed.
“I know. But the hour the old man gave us is almost up, and... we need to rest. We can formulate a plan, and come back ready once we regroup.” He gave Twilight a look. “And get you into some dry clothes, you’re shivering.”
“It’s not too bad,” Twilight muttered, forcing his shaking shoulders to still. He’d been right about it being a cool night, and he’d gotten soaked up to his waist. The combination wasn’t very pleasant, especially without his pelt.
“I know,” Warriors replied. Still neither of them moved, the captain clutching the tuft of fur, both of them straining their eyes to look at the opposite shore.
“We’ll come back,” Twilight whispered finally.
“Dawn at the latest,” Warriors agreed quietly, and Twilight nodded, his throat tight as they both looked out at the river.
“Dawn at the latest.”
Just hold on, Sailor. We’re coming for you.