Pieces of a Whole

     Tapered ears shrank back upon the sound of a familiar voice, fearful of the outcome from such an outburst. His fears were soon realized the moment that kicked had connected with the teen’s form, sending the Hero of Time sprinting into action as he darted passed both Vio and Shadow. His stature was UNIMPRESSIVE, but at the very least he stood taller than the boys, and that had to account for something.

     … Or NOT.

     “Give us back the blade.” The blond demanded, hoping to give Blue’s next actions a bit of PAUSE before a full out fight could erupt.

     “– Or what?” Came the snide response, though not from in front of him where the hulking man loomed, but behind, a notably lankier man by comparison of their original foe and the elder blond himself, but the tapestry of scars to mar the stranger’s face alongside the SKILLFUL twirl of a dagger at hand told Link that this new addition to their midst was no one to undermine. A careful glance around them also spoke volumes of just how many people were willing to fight alongside the man, faces emerging from now forming crowds and knuckles being cracked in a symphony of silent PROMISE.

     “Or we’re going to have an explosive issue on our hands.” The Hero of Time responded, readying his stance mere seconds before a knife was thrown his way with DEADLY accuracy and dodged all too narrowly, sending the blade slicing through the air so cleanly, it would have lodged itself perfectly into the original offender’s chest had he not made a move to take the offensive elsewhere against the trio in his midst.

     “Alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He muttered, tossing a glance back at the group’s way whilst sword and shield were firmly held in hand. “Boys, don’t overdo it– and watch each other’s backs !!” It was the last thing he could get out before someone’s approached his right, stabbing a spear with the intentions of SKEWERING him from the side, but instead, was caught by his shield and guided away from his form in one fluid motion, spearhead sparking against Hylian steel in an ear-grating screech.

     Vio’s arrow loosed the moment Time moved. He could understand the need to keep their abilities at a believable level, but that didn’t mean he like it. It would be faster if he aimed for vitals and Shadow used his magic and Blue used his blade to take off the hand that currently held Red’s sword. Yes that would be faster, but it wouldn’t be safer. To prove to this motely lot exactly how skilled their combat talents were would be to invite further trouble. They could possibly be followed or could earn themselves a bounty for any injuries they dealt out. So, fine, Vio would keep his arrows away from causing permanent damage. Even if he did want his first to go through the eye of the brute that had hurt Red. Instead, the projectile lodged itself in the man’s hand. 

     Green darted forward, grabbing Red’s sword and sliding on his knees between the man’s legs to pivot back up to his feet advantageously behind him. He caught the sound of Vio firing again but couldn’t spare a glance. With Red’s sword in hand, Green settled into a stance as the man turned to face him, his bleeding hand trembling with the pain of an arrow through it. Green would have used his own sword but he didn’t want to draw attention to the matching blades. Magic weapons were valuable and it would be easy enough to assume that matching blades held some kind of magic between them. That, of course, wouldn’t have been on Red’s mind. Green should have kept a better eye on his brother-- too trusting, too kind, too easy to take advantage of... 

     Green ducked under the fist that came swinging toward him and hurried back a couple steps as a second brawler joined up against him. Numbers weren’t a problem to him. He might not be the tactical genius that Vio was but Green could still hold his own if he was outnumbered, especially when he knew he wasn’t alone. Vio’s arrows were expertly lending assitance to both Green and Time while Blue helped Red to his feet. The quick flick of his gaze he afforded to his brothers noted that Red looked to still be having trouble breathing, a hand gently at his neck, while Blue raised his blade to protect them both against the vagrants that were advancing. 

     The sound of arrows stopped as Vio was forced into close combat. He grit his teeth, bracing his bow like a makeshift shield against the blade swung his way. The woman on the other end of the weapon had a detached glee in her eyes that told Vio she didn’t care what the fight was about or who was one what side. This was simply fun to her. His favorite, he thought as he rolled his eyes, maniacs. He was mentally shifting tactics, constructing a plan for him and his allies when he felt the cold change in the air.

     “Shadow, don’t--!” The snapped order was too late. Time’s order went ignored by Shadow; he’d never done well with anyone bossing him around, no matter how legitimately sound the order may be. Every bit of darkness on the ground expanded, growing deeper, thicker, until it pulled upward like viscous tentacles, whipping and snapping about. They quickly became restraints, sparing only the knights and Shadow himself, whose hands were raised and clenched in front of him. 

Zelda smiled, hiding her discomfort at the honorific and bowing her head in turn. “Thank you… I don’t believe I’ve seen you around before, but you’re a knight in training, right?”

What she really needed was a friend, but that was something you couldn’t order out of service. The boy looked about her age… but he had the manners of a squire, or even knight. That couldn’t be, though. Not as his age, surely. She’d been greeting visitors to the castle with her father all morning, and her dress itched. Ridiculously gaudy thing.

“You look an awful lot like a friend of mine… May I ask your name?”

     Green rose slowly, trying to hide the frown on his face. He was quite used to being underestimated, but not by Zelda. This absolutely wasn’t his childhood friend. He wasn’t sure if he should correct her or not. He had no basis for how strictly this princess abided by codes of etiquette. With his Zelda, back when he’d been one person and not four, the two of them could joke and play without much care at all for rules. But that might not be the case here-- and it certainly wasn’t in Green’s personality to behave as his past self had. He and Vio were respectful of codes of conduct, especially concerning social ranking.