You didn’t think this through. That much became apparent when you realized the sun was setting and you had thoroughly lost your way through the underbrush of the forest. You weren’t even trying to walk away intentionally. The group came to a somewhat difficult terrain and you just stepped away from the trail by what could have been 3 feet and suddenly you were in the middle of nowhere with no way back from where you came.

You figured that the group would have still been traveling north by the looks of it. And if the sun sets in the west, then you just have to wait a few more minutes and then gather where the sun is going and then you can travel again and hopefully meet up with the boys once more.

That’s the plan.

A fairly solid one if you say so yourself.

That’s not what happened. Go figure.

You could slowly feel the last bit of barely restrained panic seep into your system. You had tried to remain realistic, if leaning toward optimistic for a change. You knew that the group was going one way and that you hadn’t been separated for long. If you had been going the same direction then you would have been able to meet up on the trail relatively quickly afterwards. Right?

Wrong.

The sun seemed to be going down faster than you had begun to prepare for. The shadows lengthened. Anything retaining its light appeared to be glowing and following your movements. Your footsteps carried you in silence across the twigs and dried leaves on the forest floor but not everything moved like you did.

The slightest sounds began to make you anxious and jumpy.

You had tried to go as fast as you could but it was only after you nearly tripped and ate the dirt that you realized you were running through the forest at full speed. Not that it helped. The shadows continued to consume the light, chipping away at your already limited vision.

You took a turn into a crack in the mountain rock. It was wide and dark but this might as well be the safest place for you until Wolfie could come and hopefully find you. If not, then you can continue in the morning and meet up with the rest of the group when the stars align, you supposed.

You sighed and pushed your back against the wall. You were tired. You slid down the stoney wall much to your discomfort but you couldn’t care less. You hung your head between your knees and ran your hands through your hair. What a day this has been.

When you lift your head again, you try to think of the next course of action. You crack your joints and let yourself sag.

There’s a twinkling light just further into the cave.

Your eyebrows furrow and you begin to crawl through the shrinking space. You have to get onto your hands and knees, furthering the area in which you know you will ache come sunrise. When you reach the light, you come to a small cavern but at least here you can move and stand.

It’s a fairy fountain.

You could cry with relief. You take a breath and stumble towards the edge of the pool. And by stumble, I mean stumble. You trip over yourself and fall to your knees again in your exhaustion but you continue forward in some blind desperation for comfort no matter how obtuse. Your fingers touch the water’s surface. The water ripples from your contact but it grows in rhythm and strength, soon no longer emanating from your location, but instead in the middle of the small pool. Bubbles begin to surface and the Great Fairy which resides in the fountain springs forth.

She gasps in horror and immediately lets her healing magic flow over you. “Oh you poor dear. How did you ever find this place?”

“Pure luck.” You sigh in relief. While your body no longer feels like it’s yelling at you, the muscle sag and you’re reminded that you’re incredibly tired.

“Well you certainly have enough good fortune to make it here.” She whispers, seeing your eyes begin to flutter close.

She stops, concern washing over her features.

You fall asleep before she can get any more information out of you. There’s very little she can do from here except either watch over you or go back into her pool. Neither of which are things she wants to do or thinks is morally correct.

Another stranger enters her hidden oasis.

She blinks, not expecting this many visitors so soon in succession. It’s a fairy, much like her daughters but there’s little in the magic that surrounds it that she recognizes. It must come from a very far place. She’s never felt a fairy like that one before.

It looks around for a little bit before it spots the eldest visitor before it. It seems to freeze in shock before it flies over, fluttering anxiously over the person. The Great Fairy isn’t entirely sure what to do. Do they know each other?

“Hello little one.” She says softly, calling out to the little fairy.. “Are you lost? You’re welcome here.”

“Ah-...Thank you.” The voice responds. Very peculiar. The accent is off and it certainly doesn’t sound like any of her sister’s fairies either. “...And thank you for looking after my friend. I was searching for them for hours. I had feared the worst had befallen them.”

Ah, that answers at least one of her questions. She smiles warmly and nods. “My pleasure. I’m happy to be of service. As you can imagine, I don’t get much company in my little alcove.”

The fairy nods along respectfully. “I’d wish to stay longer, Grandmother, but my other friends are also searching for this one. I’d hate to keep them waiting and it will get dark soon.”

“It would be a bit difficult to get them through the only entrance, I’m afraid.”

The little fairy hums and the magic changes in front of her eyes. The Great Fairy gasps again as her hands fly over her mouth. Well now it certainly wasn’t any of the fairies she knew of.

The boy hums and looks over the other human. “I’ll think of something.” 

He hoists them over his shoulder and nearly buckles under the added weight. “I have to try at least.”

The Great Fairy frowns.”...Please be careful little one. You know where to find me should any of your friends need help or healing.”

He smiles her way, if a bit strained. “Thank you Grandmother.”

He then begins to make his way through the stone crack in the wall, dragging his friend with him as he goes.

Hyrule grunts and curses under his breath. There’s very little that can dissuade into stopping however. It takes him at least ten minutes to get through the crack while dragging you behind him. By the time he reaches the outside, he’s panting and the amount of bumps and bruises you’ve gained wake you up again.

“...Ow…” You whine and roll over.

“At least you’re alive.” Hyrule spits. He wants to take it back immediately. He’s truly thankful that he didn’t find you in any worse condition. Then again... He saw you after the fairy healed you. Who knows how bad it was before he came along and found you by sheer chance.

“...Link?” You groan and blink your eyes open.

Hyrule sighs and puts another healing spell on you. He’s about to run low on magic, but that doesn’t mean he can’t spare a few more spells. “Hi.”

You push yourself up and turn to look at him more fully. Slow recognition enters your eyes and you look around yourself. “We’re still in the forest.”

“We made it to the town.” Hyrule laments. “I thought I was bad. Why did you wander off? We thought the shadow got to you while none of us were looking. We were worried sick. We had to make a search party and everything.”

You blink away the last of your confusion and exhaustion and stare dumbly at the boy in front of you. He lets the spell drop. You at least have it in you to thank him for the magic he’s spent on making sure you’re ok. “Thanks…..How did you find me?”

Hyrule lets a look of frustration cross over his face and lets out a larger breath than you think is called for. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t trying to. I sensed the fairy fountain nearby and went to be refreshed by the Great Fairy so I could continue looking for you. It just so happened that you were already there.”

“Oh.” You say intelligently. “Did you get refreshed, at least?”

“No.”

“Oh.” You look down. You get the vague notion that you should feel ashamed in the very least but you’re too brain fired to think of an appropriate response. You don’t want the space to lapse into an awkward silence so you rack your brain to think of a new conversation. “How far is the town from here?”

“Three hours.” Hyrule sighs again and stands up. “Come on. Let’s go.”

You take his hand and let him help you up. “Are we going to make it there?”

“Yes.” Hyrule answers without room for debate. “Because so help me, You’re sleeping in a bed tonight.”

He wants to glare at you, you can tell. But he focuses his gaze forward as he wraps your arm around his shoulders and begins to march forward.

He’s tired too, you realize and now begin to feel the smallest hints of regret. His heart is still pounding. You can feel the way it pounds against your shirt. He was afraid for you. You made him afraid that something had happened. You’re concerned about the reactions the others will no doubt give you when you arrive. 

Maybe you should have stuck a little closer? Or at least tried to call out and regroup faster than you did. You’re too tired to fully feel regret though. You can admit that. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t want to break my ankle on the trail.”

“I would have healed you anyway. Or we could have had Epona do something or Twilight or Warrior, he’s pretty strong too.” Hyrule huffs and pulls you a little closer to his side when he feels you slipping.

You raise an eyebrow and lightly smack him by the side of his head. “And what would that have accomplished? What do they have to do with it?”

“They could have carried you.” Hyrule mumbles.

“But you’re carrying me right now.” You poke his cheek. “More or less anyway.”

“And I don’t know if I can continue to do it for as long as they would have been able to do it.” He sighs for the umteenth time. “They’re better than me at this.”

“I’ll pull my own weight in a moment, just let me wake up a bit more.” You promise and gently bonk your head against Hyrule’s. You take a moment to breathe and take your weight off of the young hero so that you both can walk easier through the dark forest. “I really didn’t mean to go off on my own.”

Hyrule bonks his head against yours in return. “I know I know. Just don’t do it again. I actually had to witness everyone freak out and let me tell you it’s not pretty.”

You grimace. “How much trouble do you think I’m going to be in when we meet up with everyone again?”

Hyrule actually takes a moment to think about it and smiles. “Lots.”

“Fun.” You groan. “What do you think they’ll do to me?”

“Punishment probably.”

“Like what?”

“Chaperone. Making sure someone is walking next to you at all times.”

“Well that’s a given.”

“Or a lecture and leave it at that.”

Warriors’ heart started to pound. He started to sweat, the products that had only half sunk into his skin smearing and dripping to the floor.

Someone stirred within the camp, the steadily growing light rousing them.

Was this a nightmare? No, this situation was horror beyond anything his mind could have conjured up itself.

But he was a trained army captain. He could, if nothing else, remain calm and dignified in the face of crisis.

As the other Link stirred all the more, entering the land of the living, Warriors snatched the scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around his head. Was it stylish? No, but it was infinitely better than the monstrosity that lay beneath.

“Warriors?” came a sleepy voice. The world must have been particularly cruel today, because it was, of course, Legend. The one person who, without a doubt, would give him the most grief. “Why are you wearing your scarf on your head?”

But wait… perhaps this was a gift in disguise.

“Legend,” he hissed urgently, “I need to borrow your hat.”

Legend crinkled his nose, his eyes bleary having still not woken completely.

“What? No way, why would I give you my hat?”

He hesitated. Perhaps honesty was the best policy here. As long as he didn’t see the mess of straw-like hair on his head, he would never know the extent of his problem.

“Listen, don’t tell anyone,” he whispered, desperate not to wake the others and add to the issue, “but I ran out of hair gel this morning. I need to hide my hair until I get some more.”

Legend slumped and rolled his eyes.

“For Hylia’s sake, Wars, no one cares if you walk around with a bedhead. Half of us do anyway.”

“You don’t understand,” Warriors pleaded, “I need your hat.”

“No.”

“Please!”

“It wouldn’t fit on your massive head anyway.”

Damn it all, this really was the worst of all bad days.

“How bad can it be, anyway?” Legend asked curiously, and before Warriors could so much as react, the scarf was pulled off his head.

For a moment, the two Links only stared at one another, Warriors in horror and Legend in shock. Then Legend’s eyes widened in sudden glee.

“Holy shit!” he exclaimed with a wide grin, “that’s the worst hair I’ve ever seen. And mine’s pink!”

He hadn’t tried to lower his volume, and soon enough the entire camp was stirring. One by one the seven other Links woke, their faces bleary and confused. But when they saw Warriors, their reactions turned to anywhere between audible gasps and sudden, raucous laughter.

“By the Goddesses, Wars, what animal died on your head?”

“Is this what it always looks like before you put that product in it?”

“I feel better about my own hair now!”

Warriors felt his face grow redder and redder, and eventually he sunk to the floor, hiding his face in his hands.

He was ready to sink below the earth, succumb to misery and fatal humiliation. But then he felt a small pair of arms wrap around him.

“Aw, Wars, we’re sorry,” said Wind, “you’re beautiful really, even though your hair looks like a bush.”

“Yeah,” he heard Hyrule add, “I’m frankly impressed you manage to tame that every morning. Maybe you could teach me how you do it?”

Gradually, he emerged from the shield of his hands to see the eight of them looking down with half-guilty, half-amused expressions.

“And I guess you can borrow my hat,” said Legend, still grinning, “I didn’t know how bad it was.”

Warriors let out a groan that turned into a light chuckle. This might have been the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he supposed he could see the humour in it.

Twilight clapped him on the shoulder good-naturedly.