“That was a deeler,” Hyrule said as he joined them, a wince on his face. “Sorry, I forgot they were in this area. I guess we should we keep an eye out for more.”
“Of course you forgot about the giant deadly bugs,” Warriors sighed.
“That thing could’ve eaten the smithy in one bite,” Legend said, and Four rolled his eyes.
“You’re not that much bigger than me, genius.”
“Yeah, but it didn’t attack me.”
“It didn’t attack me, it attacked Wild.”
“He’s also not that much bigger than you,” Time observed idly, and had multiple offended looks leveled at him.
I wanted to participate at least ONCE for @kikker-oma ‘s amazing Fan Joy July so here’s a lil somethin for @skyward-floored and her AMAZING Kitty Wind fic! Peggy writes Wind SO well and she makes all other boys distinct and Kitty wind makes me wanna SQUEAL CUZ HES SO CUTE!!!! Y’all should definitely check it out and give it love cuz I like it a lot :))) thanks for the amazing fic Peggy and thanks for the great prompt month Oma!
Edit: the original link isn’t working for some reason so here’s a different link that goes to Peggy’s tumblr:
Hi new fic
https://archiveofourown.org/works/52017334/chapters/131545159
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Tran
“Hey, look, he’s dreaming,” Hyrule said, pointing at where Wind was curled up on Warriors’ lap, the little cat’s face scrunched up and twitching in his sleep.
His legs kicked a little, and Warriors ran a hand over his head, Wind startling out of his sleep with a startled mrrp?
“Sorry Wind, you were twitching,” Warriors apologized softly, and Wind blinked sleepily at him, then yawned, stretched, and curled back up, resting his head on Warriors’ hand.
It took everything Warriors had to bite back a comment on how adorable he looked.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Happy epiphany for those who observe, and many many apologies for taking so long to update this 😭 I hadn’t realized it had been so long, and then I was working on this fic anyway today and happened to look at the last chapter and was like OH DANG I NEED TO FR GET ON THAT. So here we are!
Also the chapter count may go up again, but as of now I do not know. There won’t be too many more though, we’re in the home stretch! Hopefully only one. Definitely no more than three.
Enjoy :3
Chapter 9 | next (coming soon)
————————————————————
Wind came to slowly, a pounding in his head and a churning in his stomach.
He groaned, the sound squeaky, and forced his heavy eyelids to open, wondering why he felt so bad. Hadn’t he just been napping on Hyrule’s shoulder? Or was it Legend’s shoulder? He felt so confused...
A screech echoed somewhere nearby, and Wind startled, further opening his eyes, and squinting through his fuzzy vision. Flickering light met him, mixed with uncertain shadows and lines across his sight, and Wind blinked rapidly despite his headache, trying to get his eyes to clear. He had a really bad feeling about this.
The light gradually grew less fuzzy, but the lines in his vision didn’t go away. Wind squinted as he slowly sat up, and he realized the lines were bars, and he was in a small cage.
Wind growled, memories flicking through his head as his heart pounded. He didn’t remember being put in here, but he remembered fighting those horrible monsters. He must’ve been knocked out.
This day just gets better and better.
Wind carefully got to his feet and wobbled over to a wall, peering through the bars to get a better look at the area around him. He was in some kind of cave, or temple or something. Definitely underground at least, based on the rock above his head and lack of natural lighting. Torches lit the space, flickering eerie shadows across the wall, and Wind followed them, looking at the pillars holding up the ceiling, the craggy rock walls, the handful of bones picked clean in a corner.
And Sky tied to a pillar, his head lolling as monsters jeered around him.
“Sky!” Wind screeched in a panic, clawing frantically at the cage the monsters had dumped him in. His yowling caught their attention though, and several monsters approached his cage, jabbing claws through the bars at him.
Wind swiped at them, hissing in anger, and... maybe a little fear, but the monsters only let out snorting laughs, enough of them poking at him that Wind couldn’t avoid them all. He cowered back and curled into a ball, trying to protect himself from their claws, and couldn’t help wincing when they jabbed at his injuries from before.
“Go away!” he yowled, but the monsters only cackled, poking at him more.
Eventually they got tired of messing with him, and headed out of the cave, leaving Wind to shiver in his cage.
He slowly uncurled, and took stock of himself, wincing at the ache in his head and body, dried and drying blood stuck to his fur. Great Jabun was he a mess. His grandma would have a fit if she could see him now. Wind gave the worst spots some quick licks to clean them a little, then went back to looking at Sky, still totally unconscious.
At least, he hoped unconscious.
Wind leaned forward, worry clogging his throat. He remembered now, Sky being bitten by that spider thing, collapsing and being unable to move. And now he was unconscious, or looked like it. But was that because of the bite, or because of the rest of the monsters?
Wind craned his neck. He could see some blood on Sky’s head, but it didn’t look too fresh. He hoped it was from earlier, and the monsters hadn’t hit him just to keep him quiet.
“Sky?” he meowed softly, hating how it came out as a whimper.
The other hero didn’t move.
Wind sank down, despair abruptly hitting him. Sky was hurt, Wind was trapped, and he didn’t know what to do. He’d fought as hard as he could and hadn’t been able to defend Sky earlier. He couldn’t free him from the ropes trapping him now, and it wasn’t like he’d be able to tend to his injuries either, even if he could free himself.
All Wind could do was sit here, a weak, helpless little cat.
Useless.
Wind set his chin on his paws, whiskers drooping, body aching. He looked over at Sky, feeling despondent, but as he studied him and took in just how hurt and helpless he was too, something flickered in Wind’s chest.
No.
No, he wouldn’t give up.
He may have been small, but Sky needed his help, and moping wouldn’t do anything. They had to get out of here, and currently, Wind was the only one who could do anything about that.
Sky was counting on him. Even if Wind was small and useless.
He had to do something.
Wind lashed his tail worriedly, sitting up and studying his cage. He needed to get out and get to Sky, but he didn’t know how he was going to do that. The bars were thick, and there was a lock keeping the cage door tightly shut. Wind studied what of it he could see, squinting at the latch. There was a small mechanism that kept it closed, but... would one of his claws work to open it?
Wind slowly reached a paw through the bars, twisting it around to where the lock was. He extended his claws as far as he could, and inserted one into the latch, carefully twisting it to try and open it.
The angle was weird though, and Wind’s claw kept slipping. It snagged on the lock when it slipped, and hurt, but Wind didn’t give up, and kept putting his claw back in even when blood started to dampen his toes.
Come on... come on...
Finally Wind’s claw went deeper, and he heard a small click. Excitement rushed through him, but he made sure not to jerk his paw, carefully turning it the rest of the way.
Another click rang through the air, and the door fell open.
Wind popped out of the cage, free as a bird, and didn’t hesitate to drop to the ground and make a beeline for Sky, looking frantically around for any monsters that might grab him.
All of them seemed to be busy on the other side of the cave, and so Wind bolted across the floor, quickly reaching Sky despite his shaky paws. The Skyloftian didn’t react at his approach, and Wind climbed carefully into his lap, looking at his face.
Sky was pale, his skin almost grey in the dim light, and a quiet wheeze came with every breath, one Wind could hear even without pressing his ear to his chest. His worry grew at all the dried blood he could see so much better up close, and Wind gently pawed at his cheek.
Sky didn’t move at Wind’s touch, and Wind let out a whimpering meow, nudging his chin with his head. Sky’s head lolled the other way from the nudge, and Wind climbed carefully onto his shoulder. He made sure he avoided any bloody areas, and nudged Sky’s chin again, closer to his ear this time.
Sky didn’t move.
Wind flattened his ears, his heart thudding unpleasantly. It didn’t look like Sky was going to wake up right now, but Wind couldn’t just leave him here. He had no way of getting him out though... it looked like they were stuck.
If I only had arms, I could untie the rope and help him out, or maybe even wake him up...
Wind curled up into a tight ball on Sky’s shoulder, trying to warm up the other hero’s chilly skin. It was cold in the cave, and with no other ideas, Wind could at least try and make him more comfortable.
Without much thought, Wind began to purr, something in his brain urging him to as he sat and warmed his unconscious friend. It was less of a content purr and more of a soothing one, both for himself and Sky, and Wind felt himself calm down a little. He set his head by Sky’s jaw, still purring as he listen to his pulse, and closed his eyes, thoughts going a mile a minute.
Sky was tied up and hurt. Wind was a tiny cat.
And they were both stuck in a cave with a horde of monsters bent on doing who knew what to the both of them.
Wind’s purr faltered a little, but he kept it up, pressing little rumbles against Sky’s skin. He’d think of something. Even if it took a while, Wind would get Sky out of here before anything else hurt him.
No matter what.
Wind kept purring, eyes drooping as he stayed cuddled up to Sky. Time was hard to trace in here, especially as Wind lightly dozed, but the monsters had left some time ago, and it had been quiet for a while when Sky suddenly twitched.
Wind lifted his head to look at him, hope rising in his chest when his eyes flickered. Sky let out a soft groan, then opened his eyes, his blue gaze unfocused. He blinked a few times as he looked around, vision gradually clearing, then he seemed to startle into awareness, a gasp escaping him.
His body jerked like he was going to stand, but the ropes prevented him from doing anything. Sky frowned, trying again, but made no headway apart from making himself wince.
Wind mewed, and Sky turned to look at him, relaxing just a little at the sight of the cat.
“Well hey there,” he whispered, and since his hands were currently tied behind his back, tilted his head over and lightly nudged Wind with his nose. Wind nuzzled against Sky in return, and Sky let out a raspy chuckle. “Glad you’re okay. I can’t say I’m glad the monsters got you buddy, but... I’m glad I’m not alone.”
Wind mewed again, and resumed his purring, leaning up against Sky. He couldn’t speak, but he could do this at least.
Sky smiled, and let Wind snuggle up to him, relaxing a little as he continued to purr. Wind watched him study the room, taking in the dark cave and handful of monsters way off in the corner, and a small shiver went through him.
“I wonder what they want with us,” Sky mused, frown deepening as one let out a particularly wild noise. “They must want us for something if they didn’t just kill us...”
He paled a little as he spotted the pile of bones in the corner.
“...I really hope we’re not on the menu.”
Wind let out a soft hiss, and Sky nudged him again.
“You should get yourself out of here,” Sky said worriedly, looking over Wind. “They probably will eat you, and I don’t want you to stick around just for my sake.”
Wind stared at him, trying to convey the fact that he was not leaving Sky here alone. Sky raised an eyebrow, but before either of them could discuss it more, a monster howled, much closer than the others.
Wind looked up, and saw the main group of monsters come back into the cave, and he and Sky both stiffened.
“Hide buddy,” Sky whispered.
Wind leapt off of Sky’s shoulder and scrambled behind another nearby pillar just in time as the monsters approached. He watched as the group came forward, only recognizing a handful of the types of monsters that made up the mob.
Does Hyrule really fight these things all the time? Yikes.
A big bat-like monster stalked forward to the front of the pack, teeth bared in a leering grin as it looked at Sky. Something about the way it held itself made Wind think it must have been the leader.
“Caught,” it suddenly hissed in a voice that sounded like gargling rocks, and Wind and Sky both startled. Talking monsters? “Chosen trapped. Finally oursss. Victory for usssss.”
“Oh yeah?” Sky said casually, like he wasn’t being stared down by a huge mob of beasts that could easily kill him. “You want to let me in on why you dragged me down here? Is that part of your ‘victory’?”
The bat-like monster grinned. “Ssssacrifice,” it laughed in a nasty hissing voice. “Blood of hero. Return of Ganon.”
Sky lost what color he had, and Wind felt his fur stick up on end as the monster let out another laugh.
Return of Ganon?!
The monster jabbed a claw in the middle of Sky’s chest. “Not the hero we hunt. Good blood anyway.” It leaned in and sniffed almost hungrily at the half-dried blood on Sky’s face, and he recoiled. “A curse in spirit, a curse in blood. Soon will be spilled. And Ganon will return.”
The monster cackled again, and the others behind it jeered, laughing and hooting with mirth. Wind felt like he was going to be sick.
“My blood won’t do anything,” Sky said, meeting the monster’s eyes. “You’re wasting your time.”
“Blood of a hero powerful. Even if not of the hunted,” the monster hissed, and grabbed Sky’s chin in its claws. “If nothing else, less hero to fight. Rewarded for your death.”
“You can try,” Sky said in a low voice.
The monster growled and gave Sky’s face a harsh shake before dropping it, scoring small scratches on his chin. “Once venom fades from veins, your blood be pure. Then sacrifice. You die.”
The monster gave him a sneer.
“Enjoy final hours.”
The monsters all laughed, and the big bat one stalked away, the rest following. They exited through the passageway across the room, and things were quiet again.
Wind waited a moment to be sure it was safe, then shakily crept back towards Sky, looking at him in dismay. The Skyloftian was obviously shaken, blood stark where it dripped from his chin, but he scrounged up a smile when he saw Wind.
“Well, we know their plan now,” he said with a weak chuckle, and Wind climbed back up onto his lap, giving him a look. “...I’m trying to find positives here, buddy.”
Wind huffed out, trying to get his fur to stop sticking up, and studied the ropes Sky was bound in. This was beyond personal danger now, they really needed to get out of here. And since Sky was stuck, Wind had to be the one to do something. The ropes encasing him were really thick, and wrapped around him multiple times, but Wind wondered if he could bite through them. His fangs were pretty sharp, right?
He leaned forward and chomped down on the rope, grimacing at the flavor. Inserting his teeth in as much as he could, Wind gnawed at it a little bit, trying to tear the rope with his fangs, but he didn’t seem to be making any headway.
A growl escaped him as he yanked, and Sky gave him a worried look.
“Don’t hurt yourself,” he cautioned, right as Wind’s grip slipped, and he went tumbling backwards with a squeak. “...I don’t think that’s going to work.”
Wind breathed out as he righted himself, and looked up at Sky, then tiredly flopped on his lap. His head still really hurt, along with all the aches and pains he had, and he needed a break while he took a moment to think. How could he free Sky like this?
“I really think you should get yourself out of here,” Sky repeated, voice soft. “I’ll figure something out. You don’t need to stay on my account, if I can find a weapon I’ll be okay.”
Wind gave Sky as flat of a look as he could manage. I’m not leaving you, dummy!
Especially since Sky was several shades lighter than he should be, had blood running down his face, and had been faintly shivering the entire time he’d been awake. Wind wasn’t going to leave him.
Then the later part of Sky’s words registered, and Wind paused. Sky couldn’t move, but Wind could. And if he could find something sharp enough to cut through the ropes, he could bring it back here, and free Sky!
Wind stood up, and quickly climbed Sky’s shoulder in order to give the unhurt part of his chin a nudge. Sky looked at him, and Wind stared back, trying to make it clear that he wasn’t leaving for good.
I’m just finding you a way out!
Sky blinked, and Wind tilted his head in the direction of the door, then back at Sky. Sky squinted, and Wind sighed, not wanting to waste more time trying to explain.
“I’ll be right back,” he mewed, even though he knew Sky wouldn’t understand, then gave his nose a lick before scampering down and off towards the doorway, ignoring his aching legs.
He paused at the exit, and glancing back at Sky, saw he’d closed his eyes. Relief and sadness were on his face, and Wind nervously flexed his claws, then took off.
I’ll be right back, Sky. I promise.
(...)
Wind snuck through the halls of the cave as stealthily as he could, keeping his ears pricked and senses alert. No monsters were going to sneak up on him, not if he could help it. And besides, if he had to have such big ears, he might as well use them.
They were pretty helpful all in all, and Wind had gotten used to the extra level of hearing at his disposal. He’d miss that if he became human again.
Wind paused. Whoa, when I become human again.
When.
Wind shook his head and focused. The cave he was wandering through was really big, with pillars and hints of old architecture scattered around, and he would’ve been pretty impressed if he hadn’t been so focused on trying to find something sharp he could swipe. It needed to be small enough that he could carry it, but sharp enough that Sky could get free. Which limited his options, but there had to be something around.
Maybe one of the monsters has something, Wind mused as he crept along a passageway, and grimaced. Of course, that would mean I’d have to take something from said monster.
Thieving was not easy when you didn’t have thumbs.
Wind slipped through a doorway, wondering briefly at the fact that there was a doorway in the cave, and froze. The new cavern he’d entered into was smaller than the one Sky was in, but there were tons of monsters inside, sleeping or fighting or just lazing around. They looked almost bored, and Wind watched them for a minute. He supposed they didn’t have much to do while they waited to sacrifice Sky.
The reminder made Wind’s heart jump, and he swallowed as he hurried inside. With so many monsters around, there had to be weapons too, including ones he could grab. He just had to be sure he wouldn’t be seen while he looked around.
Darker fur would be pretty useful right about now.
A pair of lizalfos-things were growling at each other near the entrance, and Wind realized they were Daira as he hurried past, one leaping for the other, snarling. A few other monsters were watching and hooting excitedly, and Wind was glad for the distraction as he skirted them. There were plenty of rocks and things to hide behind, and so Wind steadily crept across the room, looking for an easily swipeable weapon.
A few were piled close by, next to a couple of weird yellow things with big ears that looked like they were sleeping, and Wind padded over, carefully poking through the pile. Swords that were too big... axes that were too big... clubs that weren’t sharp enough...
None of the weapons were the right size, and Wind sighed and kept going, noticing a few more piles of weapons around the room. He stepped past the sleeping yellow things, and snuck his way around two things that looked like hairy moblins devouring something he hoped was just animal meat. One paused and sniffed the air right as Wind was beside it, and he froze, but the monster went back to eating a few seconds later.
Wind sighed quietly in relief, and kept going.
He made it to the next pile of weapons, but this one was almost exactly like the other, big swords and dull clubs, though this one had some bones tossed haphazardly in the pile as well. None were sharp enough once again, and Wind huffed and snuck over to the next one.
He worked his way around the entire perimeter of the room, getting into a few close calls with being seen, but none of the weapons he found were light enough or sharp enough. Wind bit back a growl when he realized all the weapons were useless to him, and he tried not to lash his tail. Surely at least one monster in here had a dagger!
A snarl rang through the air, and Wind looked up to see two different monsters wrestling on the floor, one a different lizard-thing, the other a pig-thing. The lizard was trying to bite the pig’s arm, but the pig kept rolling over and trying to jab its tusks into it.
The lizard finally sank long, sharp teeth into the pig, and it squealed, ripping its arm out of its mouth. The two began to fight even more ferociously, and Wind suddenly noticed a long, greenish scale that had fallen to the floor, wickedly sharp and gleaming with blood.
That’s perfect, Wind thought with a sharp inhale. But how was he supposed to get it? It was in the middle of the room, in clear view of about twenty different monsters.
The lizard screeched as the pig slashed at it with its tusks, and as Wind watched them fight, he got an idea. It was a really, really dumb idea, but he hadn’t thought of anything better, and time was running out.
This one’s for you, Wild, he thought with a brief pang of worry. He hoped the champion was doing all right. Or better then him and Sky, at least.
Wind quietly grabbed a club he’d found earlier, just light enough that he could drag it. He snuck over to the two hairy moblin-things, carefully setting the club close by one, then wound his hind legs back, and harshly kicked the other.
It yelped, and Wind also kicked the club so it was sitting right beside the other monster, who looked at it in confusion. The first moblin growled when it saw the club, and it looked like the two began to argue, pushing and shoving each other.
For good measure, Wind crept behind the other and jabbed an ankle with his claws, and it snarled, immediately blaming the other monster. It leapt at it, and Wind skittered away as they began to fight, the other monsters taking interest.
They began to crowd around, jeering and watching in interest, and Wind took a deep breath, then dove into the mess of legs, jabbing and poking monsters at particular points, grabbing and tossing rocks and bits of bones that would hurt.
The monsters had no idea he was there, and they assumed their fellow beasts were poking at them, which nobody was happy about. Wind started biting ankles, and that really made them mad, small fights starting to break out, which turned into larger ones as more monsters were shoved or kicked. Soon the entire room was in a massive brawl, screeches and howls ringing off the stones, and Wind had to scramble out of the way of the most violent ones.
He grinned to himself, proud of the chaos he’d sowed, and ran for the scale he’d seen before, confident the monsters were distracted enough that they wouldn’t see him.
Sure enough, the beasts were too busy fighting amongst themselves to notice a little cat dart out into the middle of the room and snatch a scale off the floor, and they were definitely too distracted to see him then run back out of the room, the scale clenched tight in his teeth.
His glee at his success faded a little as he scampered through the caves, unsure of how much time had gone by. He’d snuck around the caverns for a while, especially in the cave with the monsters. He had no idea how long they had until the monsters tried to sacrifice Sky, and his fur remained puffed out as he sprinted.
But also, he couldn’t help feeling a little proud of how he’d successfully tricked an entire room full of monsters into attacking each other.
Finally Wind made it back into the room where he’d woken up, and saw Sky still tied to the pillar, his head resting back, eyes closed. He didn’t seem any more pale at least, though he still looked utterly exhausted. Wind huffed tiredly, and ran the last couple feet to him, clambering up onto his lap.
Sky blinked out of his doze, and his face lit up as he saw Wind, surprise in his eyes.
“Oh buddy, I told you to escape,” he said, voice a bit exasperated, but he couldn’t hide his smile. “What’s that you’ve got there?”
Wind let out a muffled meow, and put his front paws on Sky’s chest, starting in on sawing at the ropes. The rope was so thick it was slow going, but to Wind’s excitement, he could see that the scale was actually cutting through it, just like he’d hoped. Sky’s eyes widened as he realized what he was doing, and he wiggled a bit, trying to help.
One thread of the rope snapped, and Wind excitedly twitched his tail, sawing as fast as he could. It was working!
“Keep it up little guy,” Sky said excitedly, and Wind sawed as fast as he could, no longer caring about the nasty taste in his mouth. The rope was in multiple thick loops around Sky, but Wind thought if he could cut through even one or two of them, it might loosen the rest enough for Sky to get free.
Then they could escape, and find the others, and get back the Master Sword, and Wind could finally go back to normal.
He snapped through one section of rope, and paused as Sky wriggled. He couldn’t quite get free yet, so Wind hurriedly began on another, sawing so fast his teeth felt funny. The back and forth motion made them vibrate, and he was drooling a bit because of how he had to hold the scale, but Wind kept it up, even when his mouth started to ache.
It took forever, but he finally cut through the next full piece, and with the top two ropes removed, the others loosened a considerable amount. Sky was able to wiggle free of them, and he pushed them down, smiling brightly at Wind.
“You’re amazing little guy,” he said, and Wind mewed happily, finally dropping the scale and spitting out the monster taste as best as he could. Sky pocketed the scale, looking at it with a smile. “Thank you so much.”
Wind nodded, feeling extremely pleased with himself, then hopped off Sky’s lap so he could try to stand. Sky took a deep breath, put his hand on the pillar for support, and carefully pushed upward. His legs shook rather hard, but they didn’t buckle, and Sky made it upright.
He closed his eyes once he was up though, looking dizzy, and Wind meowed softly, nudging his leg.
“I’m fine,” Sky murmured, and took a deep breath as he reopened his eyes. “I’m fine. I’ve been through worse. Let’s get out of here.”
Wind didn’t really believe him about being fine, but there was nothing he could do about it right now.
Sky took a shaky step forward, and then another, Wind sharply watching. Sky paused a moment and seemed to collect himself, then let go of the pillar as he walked a little more confidently. He still looked like he was going to fall over at any moment though, and Wind desperately wished he could help him. If he’d been human he could at least support him a little.
It was slow going, Sky ending up by the wall so he had something to lean on as he walked. Wind followed nervously at his feet, ears pricked for any monsters, his tail stiff with worry. He’d distracted most of them for sure, but how many more were there? Sky could barely walk, what would they do if they ran into a big group of them?
Sky was close to the exit of the cave when he grimaced and stopped walking, leaning heavily against the wall. He lightly rubbed the back of his neck, then wrapped an arm around his middle, slowly breathing out.
Wind mewed in concern, and Sky gave him a weary smile.
“The nap I had didn’t help much I guess,” he said with a thin chuckle, and took a few steady breaths. “And that spider bite wasn’t fun. ...I wish I had the Master Sword.”
You and me both, Wind thought sadly to himself, and he brushed against Sky’s legs while he rested.
“I wonder where they put her,” Sky murmured, pushing back off the wall so he could keep walking. They exited the cave where they’d been trapped, and Wind led Sky in the opposite direction from all the monsters he’d seen earlier. “I saw some of those monsters that took her earlier, so I’d bet she’s here somewhere. But where is she? Where did they hide her?”
Wind twitched his whiskers in a shrug, and Sky sighed.
“Well. I guess escaping is more important first,” he murmured, heading towards a cave with a carved entrance around it. “Then we can figure out what—”
Glowing eyes appeared from the cave ahead.
Wind screeched a warning, but he was too late, monsters rushing towards them like a living tide. Wind leapt back to avoid being trampled, and Sky slashed out with the scale he’d picked up, hitting a blin that Wind recognized, and then jabbing hurriedly at a moblin.
His strike downed the blin, a red line across its throat as it gurgled, but the moblin barely faltered, and another of those bat things from earlier slammed into Sky with a hiss. Sky was too weak to stop himself from being thrown to the ground, and he cried out as he hit it.
Wind ran for him, claws already out, but then a hand snatched him up, squeezing him so hard he could barely breathe.
He hissed, trying to bite the claws that had hold of him, but the angle was all wrong, and he couldn’t do a thing. Wind looked frantically down at Sky, and saw several monsters pinning him down, a furious look in his eyes.
The batlike monster pressed a clawed foot to Sky’s head, and Wind yowled in protest, fighting furiously to get free.
“It time,” the monster with its foot on Sky’s face sneered. “Time for Ganon’s return.”
“Never,” Sky spat, but whatever he was going to say next got cut off as a monster stomped its foot into his chest right where there was an old spot of blood.
Sky gasped in pain, and Wind squirmed uselessly in the monster’s hold as Sky was once again tied up, monsters hooting and howling as he was bound. A cut on his face got reopened as he struggled, and the bat-like monster smeared it on its claws, raising them in triumph.
“Time for blood!” it crowed, and the rest of the monsters responded with equal glee, a deafening sound of bloodthirst ringing through the cave.
All Wind and Sky could do was look at each other in a panic as they were both dragged away.
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)
————————————————————
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.
