#srayor

“... So you are… definitely Hylians. Even if you are dressed a little funny.” 

The guard, a simple farmer really, based on his clothes, leaned both his body and his weapon against the stone work making up the entry gate to the town.

“My name’s Thadd, you all look like good people so you’re free to head in. Sorry for yelling, you can never be too careful.”

Sky spotted Warriors exchanging a look with Twilight that screamed ‘does he even know what the word careful means?’.

“This is Hateno, correct?” Time asked, gesturing to the sign swaying in the wind above their heads.

“Yes sir! Hateno village! Er, town?” Thadd trailed off, putting a hand on his chin, “Can a village be a town?” 

“Um-”

“Anyway! The food’s good! The air’s good!,” He looked over his shoulder at the bustling town, “Ah, there’s a dye shop? And an inn? What else…”

“Thanks but-”

Thadd trampled over Time’s interjection once more, “Oh! A word of advice? Don’t go up to the house on the top of the hill, the old woman there can talk the feathers off a cucco.” 

With that cryptic warning he waved them through and stared out across the landscape, presumably resuming his usual activity when no one was coming through the gate. 

Time led them a good ten feet or so before turning to face the herd. “Ground rules for the town.”

“We didn’t have rules in Kakario?” Wind questioned, not quite pouting but close. 

“We had other things going on, now, ground rules. First off, don’t steal anything.”

Any further discussion cut off as Wild, drenched both from the ocean and the sky, stumbled up to them, seaweed hanging around his shoulders like an especially slimy shawl.

“Guys, you won’t believe this! I found this cool weapon you swing and stuff! Like, it's not really a stabby thing it’s more of a… a… a wham type thing! See you just–!”

Hyrule ducked as Wild’s new weapon soared through the space his head had previously occupied. He jumped back as it came around a second time, “Hey!”

“I could win so many fights with this!”

Next to him, Four started laughing, Hyrule fought a smile until he caught the look in Wild’s eyes as he stuttered momentarily before continuing his ramble.

“It would give me a longer reach! I could just knock 'em all over and, and, ah…”

Continued laughter had the wind slowly falling out of his sails, the light in his eyes flickering. Hyrule considered the feasibility of killing the hero of the four swords without potentially destroying a timeline somewhere. Not that they didn’t toe that line every time they stepped into battle on this quest.

Luckily for Four’s heart and attached body parts, the sodden hero rallied quickly. However, Wild’s solution was to start making dramatic whooshing sounds to drown out Four’s merriment in lieu of saying anything else complimentary about his weapon.

Hyrule sighed and held a hand out to stop the ‘deadliest thing this side of Hyrule’, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” He tugged at the wood in his grasp, “But an oar is not exactly a high grade weapon.”

Four took a breath, whipping a tear from his eye, “It’s not made to be a weapon at all, you use it for-”

“Tell that to the Calamity and my nine wooden branches then!”

It was at this point in the conversation that Twilight, Sky, and Wind came into hearing range. “Alright I was going to give you good news, but now I just want to know what nine wooden branches and the Calamity have to do with anything.”

Wild held out his oar, not even a proper oar as it was too short. “I’m going to conquer the world with this.”

“That’s a paddle.”

“We’ve been trying to tell him, Rancher, but he’s invested.”

Sky, it seemed, couldn’t help but root for the underdog in the situation. “With his track record he could probably make it work?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

The conviction could only last so long, “Definitely asking.”

“The betrayal,” Wild tucked his only friend to his chest, “Slandered in my own home.”

“You don’t live here.” Four chimed in.

“I can’t believe you’d doubt me and the best weapon I’ve ever held.”