Comforts of the Sky

Chapter 2: A Secret I'll Keep

The sun beat down harshly upon Legend, even though he'd hidden himself in the shade of a nearby tree. He eyed the group of heroes playing in the waves of Wind's Hyrule. It was a welcome break from fighting and surviving. One week had passed since they'd left Legend's Hyrule, and Twilight had made a full recovery. Sky had been hanging around Legend a lot lately, and had been mother henning him relentlessly. It was getting frustrating, but it was still bearable.

It was the Skyloftian's tendency to mother them all, so Legend was letting it slide. Besides, Sky had confided in Legend soon after Legend's... whatever that was, that he'd lost his parents when he was very young, and only barely remembered them. Perhaps the Chosen Hero was aching for some form of family, and Legend was the only one who could currently give him that.

It was strange, having a somewhat-parental figure. Even Time was more of a hands-off kind of 'dad' in the group. It was also annoying, because Sky wouldn't let any kind of injury slide. Not that Legend was as bad about it as Wild, of course.

The last portal had spit them out on some uncharted island in Wind's Hyrule. Since they had no way off, but plenty of food from Wild's Slate and the natural fruit trees, they decided to wait for someone to sail by and pick them up.

The island was a fair size—it took the better part of two days to walk from one end to the other. On the other hand, it seemed to hold no real monsters. A few skulltula and chus, but that was about it. Not even one single bokoblin. It had Legend a tad uneasy. Nothing was ever that easy for heroes.

"Legend, come join us!" Wind invited for the millionth time. The veteran scowled.

"I'm really not in the mood to get sand everywhere." He shot back. He was not a fan of islands. And he was especially not a fan of swimming.

Despite the fact that he'd denied such invitations countless times throughout their journey, this time Sky had a thoughtful frown on his face. Whatever it was the Skyloftian was thinking about, Legend wasn't about to find out. The last thing he needed was a confrontation with anyone at the moment.

"I'm going to go look around again." Legend finally said, brushing off his tunic as he stood. "I don't trust that there aren't more monsters here."

"I'll come with you." Sky grinned as he stepped out of the waves. He hadn't gone further than his shins, stating that the water was too cold. Legend sighed, but resigned himself to sacrificing his alone time.

"Just be back by sunset or you'll miss dinner." Wild warned them.

"Yeah, yeah." Legend waved him off, though he appreciated the warning. He really didn't want to miss Wild's cooking because that meant suffering through someone's attempt.

Sky fell into step beside him, silent until they reached the inner portion of the forest that grew upon the island. "You okay? You've been distant since we landed here."

"I just don't like islands." He snapped.

"Really?" Sky looked like he wanted to ask about it, but a quick glare from Legend shut him up. "Uh... you... are you warm? I've got some water here. You haven't cooled off once today."

Legend sighed a bit, feeling mildly guilty about snapping at Sky. "Sure, thanks." The bright grin from the Chosen Hero had him relaxing a bit. At least he hadn't offended him. Sky was like a puppy—always well-meaning even when he did something hurtful, but if someone made him sad or hurt his feelings, it was worse than a bombchu to the face.

Even Legend did his best to avoid making Sky sad.

"Um... Legend?" Sky spoke up abruptly, looking around. Legend's hand was on his blade instantly, but he couldn't spot any enemies. "Do you... do you know the way back?"