#deaged wild

Legend crouched down beside Twilight. “That leaf sure is interesting, huh brat.” A gentle smile crossed his face only to frown as Twilight shot him a small smirk. “For the love of Din, let’s go find a place. And bring him along.” Legend kicked his legs to get a stretch in and started walking off towards a mountain side in the hopes of finding a cave. Rain seemed to be imminent.

One by one, the boys walked towards the direction their fellow companion walked off. Gently grabbing Wild by the arm and guiding him, Twilight was relieved that the young boy was following, despite his attention still on the leaf. “Heh… that really is an interesting leaf, huh cub.”

------

“Heh, that really is an interesting leaf, my boy.” Raen noticed his son looking in awe of the red orange leaf. Link was adamant on taking a souvenir for his beloved sister and made his father carry him on his broad shoulders to get a particular leaf. Link would not have any other.

“It’s like fire! Red and orange. Like Ilé. Big firey meanie.”

“Come now, Link. Your sister is a little meanie.”

That earned giggles from the boy who walked beside him, small hand grasping his and the other small hand clutching the leaf. 

“I know my sister will like it. I should have gotten mama a leaf too, but I think I know what I will get her.” Link let go of his father’s hand as he ran off a little ways off the trail to pick three wildflowers, little orange poppies. “There! I think this would be good. What you think, papa?”

“I think all four are wonderful. Your mother will most certainly love them.”

“Four? Papa… I think you forgot how to count,” Link replied as he counted his small bunch. “There are only three.”

Smiling at his son, Raen spoke, “Ah, but you forget that you are our little wildflower as well, hm. So you have three in your hand plus you.” Raen lifted his son high on his shoulders as the little boy let out a squeal of laughter.

“Careful with my leaf and flowers, papa!” came the light demand.

Both just laughed under the greying sky.

Seeing the small home in the distance in Castle Town, Link bounced excitedly on his father's shoulders. Raen made sure to grip his son’s legs before the boy fell once more like the last time. Stepping inside the house just as it began to rain, Raen let his son down and went to kiss both his wife and daughter hello.

“Mama! Ilé! We went to Akkala today!” came the excited chatter of a young boy. “It was so prettiful! I even was able to find something that reminds me of Ilé. And I got something for your too mama!”

“And what exactly would that be, little brother?” interjected his sister. “A warty old frog? A cranky Lizalfos?” Ilé stated as she was hunched over imitating a lizalfos.

Laughing and shaking his head, Link brought out his poorly concealed gifts for both of the people he thought of. 

“Here! Oh… wait. You first, Ilé. This leaf is for you. It reminded me of you and your hair. Papa said that it was a good choice.”

Gingerly taking the leaf, Ilé looked to her father who was chuckling a little.

“Your brother made me lift him up to a particular tree in Akkala so he could get you that leaf. He would take no other. There were many similar ones at the base, uncrumpled or maimed, but he insisted on this one. Link sincerely hopes you like it.”

“Oh father, Link, thank you. I love it. Let me put it in my book with the other pressed flora. I’ll be right back.” Ilé turned to her little brother and gave him a small peck on the forehead as she turned down the little hallway. 

Rubbing at his head, Link then turned to his mother. “Here mama! I got you some flowers!”

“My little wildflower! You shouldn’t have.” Taking each individual wildflower from her son, Adele began to count. “One, two, three, and four! So lovely! I adore this little flower the most.” She grabbed her giggling child and peppered kisses to his face. 

Setting her son down, Link booked it to the lower cabinet under the sink to pull out a vase for the flowers he picked. Adele placed them in and was about to take them until Link walked off with them so he and his sister can put water inside.

Upon finding his sister, he brought the vase and set it on the desk. Just being in proximity to his sister, Link felt a huge amount of heat radiate off of her. 

Wait… that didn’t seem right. Link tried to reach out to his sister, only to be repelled by some unseen force and somewhat pulling him back. Soon the walls began to speak in hushed tones.

“So what should we do with the name situation?”

-------

Reality began to warp back as muffled voices soon crescendo and slightly echoed around a small cave. The rain a gentle patter joined along with the ambient noise. 

“So what should we do with the name situation?” Warriors asked the others.

Slowly coming around, Wild realized he was sitting near a fire, Twilight acting as his pillow. Wait. How did he come here? He remembered he was in the forest and now the sun has long been replaced by clouds and drizzling rain?

“Did I sleep or something? Because I could have sworn we were in a forest not too long ago.” Wild said as he righted himself from Twilight’s side.

“Well,” Wind grabbed his attention, “You were just not there when we came out of the vortex. So We just brought you here. And in good time too! It started to rain as soon as we stepped inside this cave.”

“And then you were going to touch the flame,” added Twilight. “So of course I stopped you. And here you are now.”

“Do you remember anything?” inquired Warriors.

A wrinkled frown and pursed lips, Wild kept trying to remember. Nothing was coming up. “Nope. I just remembered stepping out of the portal and seeing a real nice leaf. Where is it anyways?”

Four pulled the leaf from a scroll. “I got it for you. You accidentally dropped it and I figured it was something you’d want to hold on to; considering how longingly you looked at it.” Just as Four was about to hand the leaf back, Wild shook his head.

“You should keep it. Consider it as a gift from me.”

Taking the leaf and putting it back in the scroll, Four was secretly happy to have received a small gift. It may seem meaningless to some, but to him, it was really thoughtful. The color of the leaf was truly beautiful and Four would be lying to himself if he didn’t want to ride that leaf down a river.

Leaning back and getting comfy on Twilight, Wild let out one small yawn. “I am really tired. Can I sleep?”

Choruses of yes and of course were uttered and the rain soon lulled the young boy to sleep.

He felt what could be hands run in soothing strokes at the top of his head as he was pulled even more under.

“Good night, Wildflower.”

“Night… mama.”

Everyone else sparred a glance at one another as soft snores filled the cave. As time passed and the sounds of the drizzling rain, along with the popping of the wood from the soon began to have a sleepy vibe that started to affect everyone else.

Giving himself a good stretch, Time addressed the others. “I think it is best we save the names for tomorrow.”

Murmurs of agreement resounded from everyone and soon everyone started to get settled for bed.

----

Before Twilight was fully awake, he felt a comfortable weight on top of him. While it was welcomed, there shouldn’t have been anything on him. His armor was taken off and his sword and shield were leaning against the wall of the cave behind him. As he put his hand to rest on his chest, he was met with something hairy. Well, that can’t be right. His fur cape was draped around Wild. Unless…

Opening his eyes, Twilight was met with blond hair near his face. Slightly lifting himself up as not to disturb the small figure laying on top of him, he realized that this was not his fur cape, nor his weapon and shield on top but a small hylian boy. As he looked around to the others finally awakening, all sleepy eyes soon gained their attention at the sight.

Four was the first to ask. “Did… Did he go smaller? He’s so tiny! His clothes no longer seem to fit…”

As Twilight tried to adjust himself more, small hands clutched to the fabric of his undershirt and the small body pressed against him as a grumble left the boy. Twi’s heart was leaping with glee at the gesture. Wind brought him out of his musings.

“I guess you need to resign to your fate, Twi, you can’t move.”

“I guess I no longer can.” A rumble of laughter left his chest as the jostling slowly woke up the small boy.

“Ugh. Can’t you guys be quiet?” Wild slightly demanded. As he was settling back to and snuggling the warm body underneath him, he quickly pulled away and fell off with a resounding oof. Lifting his hands to his face, Wild realized that the fabric pooled around his elbows. Looking down at his pants, he realized that they were tossed aside and obviously too big for him to be fitted. The shirt was the only thing keeping him decent. “Damn it all. Again?!”

----

“So… How old are you?” asked Wind.

“He looks no more than three!” Legend added incredulously.

“Possibly even two.” Added Sky.

Warriors studied the young boy even more. “I don’t know Sky. I would say two is pushing it a bit. Four seems to be a more appropriate age, honestly. But he is pretty small.”

“I was a pretty small child when young, that I was often mistaken for another age ” piped Four, “So honestly it isn’t that bad.”

Sniffling slightly, Wild responded, “You’re only saying that because you’re short yourself.”

That comment did sting just a little bit, but Four didn’t dwell on it for too long as he was aware that this was just a small slip that he didn’t mean. Quickly thinking of another excuse, he said, “Look at it this way… you can explore a little more in areas you were too big to fit in before.”

“Well, you are right,” Wild said.

Four dismissed the frowns he received from Legend, Time, and Twilight. What? He had to make the child feel a little better at least. Sure, he gave him plenty of ideas, but how hard could… wait… “But you can’t go anywhere by yourself,” he justified.

All Wild gave was a ‘are you serious’ look. “I may be four years old at the moment, but I am over a hundred years old, just so you know,” he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“So… wait. You’re four years old? How do you even know?” asked Sky.

Looking at him, Wild thought for a little bit. “I dunno know. Something tells me that I am.” Before he could add anymore, his stomach let out a growl. Wild became extremely embarrassed and hid behind his hands.

“I guess that’s a signal that we should all eat,” said Time. “Good thing we stocked up before leaving.” Time looked to Wild, “Normally you would have done the cooking, but I think we can all help pitch in to cook. Don’t give me that look. It will be just a simple meal of omelettes. As for your clothes, we need to do something about that.”

“I can at least stitch the clothing to fit it a bit more into his size. The pants can be cut into a sort of shorts or something. It will just not be professionally done, especially since I do not have the proper thread nor scissors.” Legend looked at the amused faces around him. “What? You know you have got to be ready for anything. Don’t want to run into people with holes in your clothes or something.”

And that was how morning had gone. By the time the afternoon had rolled around, Wild was already in good fitting clothes. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to pass off as wearable until the opportunity to find more better clothing was presented. Wild wasn’t complaining though. He was pretty happy and found himself hugging a surprised Legend. 

“We should get going soon and find a village or town,” Time started, “But we do need to discuss a matter though. Impa said that we should all come up with names rather than be referred to our titles when in the presence of strangers. And I would have to agree.”

All were in deep thought and all was in silence until Wind was the first to speak.

“Oh! Oh! I know mine already! I want the name Mew Mew. It will be short for Bartholomew. Or you can just go with Mew. But I am sticking with that name. None of you can have it.”

“Uh okay… Well, I guess I will be going with Hugo since my name already begins with an H. Nice and simple.” Hyrule felt every content. “Who’s next.”

Twilight looked around the cave and waited for a bit in case someone wanted to speak, but no one did. “I guess I will be going with Ezio. I heard one of the people back at my village name their eagle that.”

“Well I want mine to be Axl because it sounds pretty cool if you ask me,” Legend satisfyingly replied.

But Wild innocently added, “But that sounds like asshole.”

Warriors couldn’t help but crack a laugh at that. Scratch that. Warriors was down right cackling. Gasps of breaths were trying to be gained back as Warriors weakly gave Wild a thumbs up and a half-hearted pat on the back. Wiping his tears away and calming himself, Warriors finally regained his composure with all smiles. “Oh, boy. You really did me in Wild.” Legend just grumbled to himself that he thought it was still pretty cool and rolled his eyes. Coughing and trying his damndest to not resume his laughter as he also tried to avoid the disappointed and unamused face of Time. “Just… uh skip me for now please. I’m not ready.”

Sky cleared his throat as he grabbed the attention of the others. “Soren sounds very nice. So I will be going with that.”

Four spoke next. “I think I will go with Ezlo. In honor of a dear friend of mine.”

Time had his already picked out. “I believe Reinhold is fitting for me.”

“I guess a wise ruler does fit you, oh wise unofficial ruler of the group,” snorted Warriors.

With a small smile, Time responded, “I’m not going to be high or mighty, maybe. Have you thought of something yet?”

Warriors just shook his head. “Nothing at all.”

“I already got mine,” Wild cut in. “I want to go with… uh… wait. Let me remember.” There was a couple seconds of silence. “Ilé. I don’t know why, but it just sounds so familiar. But it won’t leave me alone. Plus, I like how it just rolls off my tongue.” After a few more seconds of silence, Wild looked at Warriors with an elated look. “I think you would be an Ignatius.” 

“Ignatius? Where did that even come from? Ehhh… not really feeling-”

“Ignatius it is!” interrupted Legend.

“I, Mew Mew, dub thee Natia.”

“Even better,” Legend replied smugly.

Wild just happily nodded as Warriors tried to come up with something else. Bickering was heard back and forth between both Legend and Warriors with the others occasionally interjecting with their opinions and such.

Things were all packed and ready to go when Time turned to Wild. “Remember Wild, in the presence of strangers, we all go by the names we have chosen.” 

“I know, I know. What am I? Two?” he just received a deadpan look from Time.

“Oi brat, you need to respect your elders,” Legend smugly replied. He ignored the glare the small boy threw at him. 

“Wild, I will carry you on my shoulders since you have no shoes currently.”

“No, Twi. I want to walk.”

“But Wild,” Wind grabbed his attention, “You could step on a rock or something-”

“No. I want to walk and I will walk.” Wild marched out of the cave and walked ten paces when he stopped with a jolt. Turning, everyone saw small tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he muttered about a stupid rock. “I will only allow this to happen once.” He turned around and lifted his arms as a sign of acceptance for Twilight to pick him up.

Sitting on top of broad shoulders felt… nice. Just like dad’s. That thought was stopped. How would he know how it felt? As Wild sat there contemplating, a dark shadow caught the corner of his eye. Leaning to the side, Wild narrowed his eyes as he scanned within the trees. Weird. Must have been his imagination.  

It was dusk when the lot had found a small village and paid their dues to the innkeeper and chose their places to sleep for the night. Wild decided to stay with Sky and Four for the night. He each took a hand and sleepily walked under the guidance of the two people he trusts. 

Patting Twilight’s shoulder, Warriors reassured him, “Hey, you don’t have to worry so much for him. Not that I’m saying you ignore him. But we both know he will be completely fine. He is in capable hands.”

“I know… It’s just I worry that he can be erased from existence. I also worry about his memory. We all have bared witness on how it just bleeds through.” 

"Hey, hey. Listen, he will be alright. Sure he regressed a little more than Purah did, but he's still there. All of this will be sorted out soon. And remember, we all are here to help one another out. Wild is in more than capable hands."

"Thanks Warriors. You're right. Goddesses be with us."

Both men walked off into the shared room as Twilight did one last glance back.

"Good night, cub." He whispered.

-----

Morning came just as quickly and both Sky and Four were awakened with the shouts of joy from one certain little boy.

“Yay! I’m still small! And not smaller!”

Groggily opening his eyes, Four looked Wild up and down. “Oh good. But you did seem to grow just a little more. Now you do actually look like a three year old. Oh, sorry, sorry. I mean you look like a real four year old.”

“I think you look adorable, Wild.” Sky rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Especially with the bedhead you are sporting with.”

“I am adorable and you all know it,” came the sassy reply. “And this hair just does a poof on its own. It’s not my fault you know.”

“Reminds me of my younger days,” Four nostaligaclly replied. “I had the craziest bedhead look ever. A hat can work wonders, you know.”

Shielding his head, Wild shook his head in a big no fashion. “No hats for me. I’m leaving. I want to go wake the others.” Putting on the rest of clothes, Wild padded outside and barged into the other rooms to wake the others. 

Once the others got ready and had a small breakfast that consisted of honied apples and porridge, they finally packed up and asked to be directed to the village shop.

“So this village is Athege Village. I am certain none of us are aware of this place. I say we get Wild some shoes, restock in anything else that is deemed necessary, and just keep on moving.” Time looked around to see if there were any objections. Seeing as there were none, he proceeded to lead the rest into the village as Time took Wild and everyone else did their necessary shopping. 

A small bell rang through the small shop alerting the shopkeeper from her musings in the back. 

“Hello and welcome! How may I help you on this fine day?” 

Time cleared his throat. “I was wondering if you have any children footwear?”

“We sure do!” the shopkeeper looked next to Time and saw Wild. “Well aren’t you adorable? You look like your father,” she sweetly replied.

“Uh… he isn’t my son...”

And without missing a heartbeat, Wild replied sadly, “Dad, I am your son. I’m sorry to have lost my shoes at the river. You always disown me when I do bad stuff.”

“Oh my!” the shopkeeper said very shocked.

“Ha ha...” came the dry reply, “I will definitely be having a word with you, young man. Just ignore him please. My brother is just like this. You know the saying… like father, like son.”

Not entirely convinced, the shopkeeper just left to go to the back and retrieve some shoes for her customers.

Being left alone, Time immediately turned to the young boy to give the biggest disapproving stare, only to be met with a mischievous smirk. “Wild, I swear to Hylia.”

“Sure, dad.” came the snark. “I know you ha- habor… habor… I know you like me.”

Before Time could reply, the shopkeeper finally came back with a decent selection of shoes. Upon seeing little brown boots, Wild had his heart set on them. 

“I want those! Please! They are just like my old ones! Please?” 

Nodding to the woman, she handed the boots off to the boy and watched with a smile as Wild just put them on. They fit perfectly. And they were comfortable as well. What more could a boy ask for? As Time watched Wild walk around and strut his stuff to the woman, he felt a warmness in his heart. Just seeing him happy made him want to keep it as such. 

Wild reached for his slate, the woman taken aback from such a thing, “How much?”

“O-oh… uh… it’ll be 25 rupees sweetie. My, such a responsible young man! Your father must have taught you, huh?”

Time pulled out his wallet, “It’s okay, Ilé, I got it. And I would be the one responsible for that. My brother is not money savvy.”

Upon hearing his chosen name, Wild smiled genuinely, “Thank you, Uncle Reinhold.”

Leaving the shop with gratitude, Wild couldn’t help but show off his new boots. He would calm to anyone listening that they made him run fast as his feet felt light. He would run in the line of sight to any tree to prove his claim was to be true. Wild just was in pure bliss. His energy was extremely contagious and made everyone have smiles all around as they all were playing to be astonished with Wild’s claim of being ‘super duper fast.’

With the atmosphere lively and warm, Time felt a chill run down his spine as he looked behind him and around. He felt as if they were all being watched.

A twig snapping caught everyone’s attention, with the exception of Wild, who was still running around.

“Wild?” Twilight called, “come over here.”

Little footsteps came quickly and as soon as he reached Twilight, the others instinctively formed a circle around Wild, swords drawn and faces determined. Confused at first, Wild soon realized danger lurked nearby. He grabbed his slate and was about to draw out a weapon when a piercing shriek caused him to drop the slate and made Wild look up with wide eyes as a shadowy figure was launched in mid-air, preparing to strike.

Every hero soon lifted their shields to block the incoming attack. With the figure hitting both Warriors’ and Twilight’s shield, they both pushed back and made the figure topple over. Landing and twisting in such a way made the others form an even more tight knit circle. With Wild finally gathering his wits and grabbing his slate, he looked through his inventory to look for something suitable for him. 

“Guys, give me an opening or something,” Wild grumbled to himself. He knew he was more than capable of doing things himself. He was, of course, ignored. Finding and pulling out a small sword, Wild looked around and saw a small opening between Warrior and Four. “Watch out!” Wild stuck out the sword and stabbed the creature that was running head on, causing it to disperse completely. 

As everyone lowered their shields, Legend asked in disbelief, “That could not have been it. There has to be something else. That was just too easy...”

Warriors observed around, “I agree. That was just too easy indeed. But we cannot stay out here. Not sure if we should stay in the open or head into the treeline.” There was pushing against his leg.  

“Move your big stinkin’ leg,” came the demand from the small boy.

“Excuse me? Me, my stinkin’ leg, and all of us kept you safe. It would do you good to stay.”

“I don’t wanna,” Wild insisted as he pushed more against Warriors’ leg. Just when he gave up after a few more shoves with no success, he was about to go push against Time’s leg until a ‘Don’t even think about it’ came from the man. “Just let me out! I can’t take it anymore!” When Wind and Legend parted a little bit, Wild pushed through and made a dramatic scene of gasping for air as if it was denied and restricted.

“Do not stray, Wild. We don’t know if that thing is still out there,” Time said as he observed the treelines.

“Okay okay. Can I just grab that cool looking stick over there?” Wild asked.

Everyone looked where the stick was at. Some had to strain their eyes to see the outline of the stick. How this boy could see that from this distance was a mystery. Unanimously, everyone decided to take the cover of the trees. Wild's eyes were lit with such happiness. He would finally get that cool stick.

It was cooler being under the shade of the trees. With Wild swinging his stick side by side and the others not too far behind him, all was well. 

Until another twig snapped. All right had their shield and sword drawn in the direction of the sound. 

Twilight called to Wild once more and the boy blissfully ran to him. Well… almost. A beetle caught the wild child's attention and he ran the other way, chasing it deeper into the forest. 

Looking back, Twilight noticed Wild wasn't near them. He just saw the stick laid with abandon. Oh Hylia… this boy was going to be the death of him.

"Wild?" He called out once more. 

No answer. A snap of more twigs and rustling caught his attention and Twilight was about to be on guard when a small boar came out from the bush.

As everyone relaxed, Twilight was already moving forward, yelling out Wild's name. 

"I swear I just want to smack him," Twilight spoke to no one in particular. "Okay," he addressed the group, "Wild has gone missing and I am this close to just having him tied to a lead. Let's split up and cover more ground. We need to be quick as that thing can still be there."

Nods were given and the group split looking for the wild child. Hylia help them all.

When the beetle finally disappeared from sight, Wild was hit with realization that he was nowhere near the others. "Great Hylia above… I will be murdered." He looked around as the terrain was unfamiliar to him. He realized he was hopelessly lost. His ear perked a little when he heard the faint calls of the other. Maybe he wasn't lost after all. The young boy was filled with vigor and soon he ran towards the direction of the others.

Running through the brush and ducking under branches, Wild was fueled to run faster when he saw Time in the clearing. He only slowed down when Time made a disapproving stare at him. No words, just that stare. It was enough to make the young boy become filled with guilt over his actions

“I’m sorry. I just saw a cool bug and...” Wild just hung his head low.

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Immediately snapping his head up, Wild watched with horror-filled eyes as Time’s face started to twist and contort. The face became so warped, that it resembled nothing human. The flesh began to fall off as it revealed an inky blackness, as if malice itself gained a form.

Inhuman noises left out of the disfigured being. It stalked over to Wild. Wild took steps back. 

Ć̸̨̧̛͕̱͓̟͚̖̥͙̠̖͉̋̈́̂̈́̈́͗͊͂̈͌̚ŏ̶̡̡̢͓͚͔̟̖͓̳͓̺̩͂̀̎̃̅͆͋̀̓́͘͘̕͝m̴̢͚͎͍̫̺̣͖̗̗̬̖̟̙̜͌è̶̛̛̬̆́̿̆̎̔̒̋̕͘̚ ̴̢̧̛͓̮̙̫͇̥̜͍̮̣̉͆̌̈̅̅̀͌́͝͝ͅͅn̷̡̙͉̙̖̲͖̥͖͖͚̑̈́̾o̴̝͇̦̩͖̠͍̜̘̮̗̩͗̽̌̎͛͝͝w̸̟͕͖͙̐̍̄̆́̌͒̈̄̀͘͜,̷̮̻̹͈̖̯̦̹͎̱̈́͌̇̀̌͂́ ̴̢̤̫͈̯͔̖͉͎̙̀̑͋̿̉̔̍̉̒̋͊͊͐͘̚c̵͚̩͆̓̈́͂̓̈́͊̅̌̎̎͝ḩ̴̡̡̢͍̹̼̟̘̮͔̅͑̀̓̐̒̕͝͠i̷͖͇̽̔͐͐͂̑͜ļ̵̢̹̩̝̯̜͖͈͈̜͙̙͇͌̄̓̀̐̈́̅̑̂͆̽͘͝͝ͅḑ̵̫̦̼̝̙̠͆.̸̖̮̣̝͈͈͍̦̥͎̠̼́̆͂̆̅̋̓̅̅̕͘ ̸͎̟̣̱̰̝̜͈͕͔̝̱͕̓̍͗̈͛̄̄̄̀͝I̶̢̡̱͍͎̙͉͉̘̘̱͇̺̍̆̓̄̏͂̔̈́̑͆́ͅţ̸̡̡̻̰̙̳͈̯͇̲̖͍̃̈́͑̊̾̋͒͠͝'̷̩̘̰̫͊͋̓̈̈́͌̄͒ş̶̦̲͍̰̲͗̾̅́ ̷̧̛͓̼̹͇͓͚̝͖̒̈́̐͋̆̄̀̈́̎͋͊̃n̴̡̲̤̪͕̮͕͍̬̬̣͕̅͌̑̈́͒̅͘ǫ̸̛̪̘͖͉͚̀̑̀͛̑͋͗̿̂̂̍͝t̸̻̟̦̺̰͐̿̓̎́̔ ̷̡̻͎̜̖̟͉̪͈̺̦̰̪̭̱̇̽ş̸͇̫̉͂̑̾̏̑͌́͊̑͊͝a̴̡̛̯̫͔̜̦͚͆̉̉̍̽̌́̓̀͠͝͠f̸̖̟̹͈̯̼̪̯̀́͋̈͐̇̀́̽̿͠͝͝ͅȩ̷̩̝͚̪̙̩̥̪͋̓̊͊͂͂̅̂͒̅̿͋̚͠͝ͅ ̸̢̡̰͔͚̦̮͙̻̦̈̍ḧ̴̛̭̦̤̹̘̬͆̈̀́͆̅̍e̶̛̹͓͎̭̤̱̞̼̥̦̮͛̂̈́́͑̌̉̿̈́͆̒̓̈́̕r̸̛̭̓͊̓̐͒̐͜e̶̺͇̥̖̬̰̾ͅ

Quickly turning around and booking it from there, Wild covered his ears as a ear-piercing screech filled the forest. Wild felt like this was the fastest he ever ran. The stinging of the branches on his skin and the snagging of his tunic didn’t deter the young boy to stop. He kept on pushing through. His slate weighed him down a little, but there was no stopping him. Wild cared less about the slate slapping against his leg. The grateful thought to Legend securing it to his clothing was pushed to the back of his mind. For now, he needed to run faster. Whatever that was, it was not far behind.

The screech that filled the forest had caught Twilight in mid sniff. He was sure the others heard it as well and were on their way to that sound source. Wasting no time, Twilight hightailed it and ran. If anything, he knew he had to be quick to find Wild before whatever that thing did.

Wild ran through the trees, face, and legs a bit bloodied as the boy tiredly carried on. His lungs were burning and his legs were threatening to give out. Wild gave a quick look back and felt relief when he saw he was alone. Until he smacked right into something. In a frantic state, the young boy lashed out and a pain filled whine filled his ears. Recognition shown in his eyes as he realized he knew the creature before him. 

Wild just hugged the wolf as he uttered apology after apology. A cold nose was just pressed on his face as a form of acceptance.

“I’m sorry, Twi! It was after me! It was-” Wild stopped himself. He pushed himself away from the warm embrace of the wolf. His eyes were untrusting. A twang of hurt flashed through the eyes of Twilight. What happened to his poor cub?

With rustling footsteps approaching once more, Wild was about to flee once more until he saw Time step out from the trees. Wild was frozen in fear. Running back to Twilight, he hid himself behind him. “It’s him! He’s after me!”

“Who’s after you, Wild?” Time softly asked as he stopped his steps. Why was this child staring at him in horror? “It’s okay, Wild, we’re here to protect-”

“NO! STAY AWAY!” the poor boy grew frantic. Wild felt the child in him surface. His more calculating and cool self was shoved away. Everything about this was screaming fear and Wild saw nothing but the horrid way Time’s face twisted and became misshapen. Despite Time’s face still intact, Wild had that fearsome image imprinted in his mind. There was such panic that Wild didn’t realize he bumped into the hylian form of Twilight. 

He felt hands around him first, and then arms. Wild became even more frantic. The creature had gotten him. This was it. He would die all because he got distracted by some stupid bug. He continued to thrash about and scream and cry. His legs betrayed him as they were limp from a lack of rest.

“It’s alright, Wildflower. Papa is here.”

Wild stopped his thrashing as he just full on sobbed. His tears didn’t let him see anything as everything became a blur. He just knew he was held in a safe manner, comforting. He buried his face into the strong neck. A small scent of hay and sweat were comforting in the fact that Wild was familiar with the scent. Wild’s sobs soon died down and became sniffling hiccups. The boy did not dare open his eyes. He just buried himself even further and gripped tighter to the fabric of the person holding him. “Sa-afe w-with p--papa.”

Time just hugged the boy even tight. He felt the grip on his tunic tighten, only to slacken as the events leading up to this point must have worn the poor boy down. “I didn’t think he would put up such a fight with you.” 

“He saw something, Time. Little kid actually packs a punch,” Twilight said as he massaged the sore spot on his jaw. He looked at the slumbering child in Time’s hold. “Sure fell asleep quickly. Do you want me to carry him?”

“No, no. This is alright. We should go find others. Open clearing is better. So we should just go back to the road we were on.” Time adjusted his hold. Despite the child knocked out from excursion, small hands still managed to maintain a grip on TIme’s tunic. Thinking over the fact that Wild had called him papa was warming to say the least. But truly, Wild must have said that in confusion. Poor boy was feral and wild with his thrashing.

A groan ripped Time from his thoughts as an inky figure stalked towards them from the trees. It was dripping a sort reddish black muck. 

 G̷̥̠͙̖͉̭̱͊͜í̶̛̛͔̠̰̬͋́͛͒̉̒̽̈́̔͒͆v̵̡̨̝̳͕͓̞̦̓̍̓́̂́̓̚ͅe̸̠̦̬͙͍͑́̒͆̊̃̏͐͋́̽̕͜͝.̴̥̥̘̫͓̠̮̝̐̈̂̍͗̔̆̒͆̑̀͆̚.̸͍̫̯͋.̸̡̡̡̮̜̯͇̼̖̼̪̝̌ ̷̯̟͙̻͍̜̓́̌̋m̷̨̧̨̝̬̪̦͍̟̝̹̱̱̒͆͂̕͘e̴̠͖̯̋̎̒͂̌̈͠͠.̵̘̜̒̀͒̏͗͐̄̓̓̀̈́͠.̶̨̳͕̙͉̼̩͉̯̠̼̀̎̑͂.̷̼̘̱͚͕̱̳̞͑̈́̍͗̀̍̑̀̎̀͠ ̴̛̬̝̲̦̼̦̥͈̊̂̏̉́̌̒̕c̸̠̘̠̻̺̙͉̗̬̬̫̗̀͗́͑͐͜ͅh̶͓̠̻̘͍̠̘̑̈̓͋ĩ̷̢̭̣́̃̇̈͋̃̂̊͗̔̋̚ļ̶͚͙̯̹̼̜̖̼̠̳̇͂͒̅͌̿͒̓̄̒d̴̮͌̑̂̓́̎̉́̊̎̕.̷̢̱̀̐͘̚̕͜͝.̸͔̗͔͓̫́̊̂̔̾̾̉͋̇͘̕͘͠.̸͎̪̹͈̞̮̥̠̞͆̓̎͋̎̒̽̕͜͝ͅ

The figure spoke brokenly.  

Time just clutched the sleeping boy even more. Eye narrowing, “Over my dead body, coward.”

Twilight pulled out his sword, “Run!”

Time didn’t have to be told twice. Getting Wild to safety was a priority. The creature gave another shriek and was about to be in pursuit until Twilight blocked its path. Another shriek but mainly out of frustration from the creature. Twilight slashed out before the creature before it slashed out first.

----

The others soon all came together, out of breath as they ran to meet Time and the child he had on him. 

Relief was evident on all their faces as they noticed Wild with his face buried deep into Time’s neck. Soft hiccupping snores were heard from the boy and Time just put a soothing hand on Wild’s back. 

“Wait, where’s Twilight?” asked Wind.

“He’s with our screeching friend. Wild just kept on saying it was after him.”

“Will Twilight be okay? We should go and aid him, shouldn’t we?” questioned Sky. Just as he was about to walk in the direction of the screech earlier, another pained screech resounded and a small battle cry was heard not far off.

Just as the others had their hands on the handles of their swords, Twilight came out from a tree, slight anger evident on his face. “Bastard managed to slither away before I was able to deliver a fatal blow.” He gave his sword a good shake before sheathing it away. 

“Did you guys get another good look at it?” asked Four.

Twilight stopped at Time’s side, staring at the slumbering boy. “Well for one thing, that thing was not just a shadowy figure. Nor was it solid. It had a goopy consistency. It did seem to ruin anything it came into contact with. Some of its flesh, if you can call it that, landed on me and gave a slight burn. ”

“He put up quite a fight,” Time added, “Thrashed about and managed to land a few hits. Kid’s got quite the arm. But he did manage to calm down some. I thank Din he was able to sleep through it up until now.”

“He became hysterical when Time showed up. It stung to see him react as that. Started to blabber that he was coming for him.” Twilight still felt that twinge of pain in his chest. He decided to not tell the others about the distrust Wild held in his eyes. “I was able to injure that… thing more, but I wasn’t able to kill it.” Twilight clenched his fist.

Warriors came up to him, “Hey, Twi, you did the best you could. You helped keep him safe. I think we should just keep on moving though. It is best to go back into the clearing. That thing may have gone away for now, but it’s better to not be in an area where ambush is possible. Not that we can’t handle it, but better to be safe for the sake of the child.”

As the heroes trudged along, Twilight looked at the sleeping boy. He slightly winced at the cuts Wild sported on his face and legs. But he was happy to see the child was in an easy slumber at least. Even though he made a vow, Twilight swore on his life that he would keep this boy safe. And he was sure everyone else would as well.