Father Time | Legend of Zelda

Chapter 1 - Nightmares of the Wind

Wind hadn't wanted to say anything at first.

It was just a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. A vague memory that plagued his subconscious until his smile dropped and he stuck to the back of the group. It was a bit of a battle to keep the others away without raising suspicion, but the forced spring in his step and relaxed shoulders was enough to keep the others appeased.

Or it seemed to, anyhow. 

It was dusk by the time they finally decided to set up camp for the night. They had been traversing Hyrule Field after scaling the side of the Great Plateau for the most part of the day, Wild leading the way across the moderately unfamiliar land. They had only been in Wild's Hyrule a handful of times, and even those were spent in either the Zora's Domaine or his house in Hateno. 

Wild had wanted to keep going until they reached the stable on the way to Kakariko Village, but due to the couple of sustained injuries after the rough landing from the portal, their pace had been slowed to that of a limping Legend. 

Wind awkwardly stood back as the others shuffled about, laying out their bedrolls as Wild began setting up his cooking pot and sorting something out for their dinner. 

It didn't happen often, the feeling. It was more fleeting, than anything - the feeling of wrongness - but the remnants lingered long after, like a heavy fog that refused to lift. It clouded his vision and forced himself inside his head. The thoughts always managed to resurface and drag his mood down, as well as his spirit. He hadn't thought it was important enough to bring up. Why would it be? The Heroes of Courage have more important things to worry about, like making sure they all survived a night in the wilderness of the most untamed Hyrule of their journey.

"Hey, Wind?" 

Wind's eyes fluttered as he refocussed on the scene before him. He shifted his gaze away from the currently small fire to the hero frowning at him. "You good?" Four's head cocked to the side, a purple tint glinting in his eyes. 

"Yep! Just thinking." 

Four hummed, and gestured to the empty space beside his bedroll. "You can put your stuff there. Wild says to keep close tonight, we don't want you too far away." 

Wind supressed an eyeroll at the concern. Of course it would be him they were worried about. Sure, he was the youngest, but he was hardly inexperienced in defending himself. He had defeated Ganon just as they others had - with a sword through the skull, no less. 

With a light sigh, he stepped towards Four and proceeded to set his stuff out, the feeling in the back of his mind unrelenting. It had been a recurring thing ever since the end of his journey, as if the moment he pierced Ganon with the Master Sword, an unforgettable evil had seeped out and wormed its way into his brain. Obviously, that wasn't possible, but the principle was the same. 

He huffed and slumped onto his bedroll, more tired than he would care to admit. Wild's Hyrule was immense and they'd been walking on uneven ground for hours on end. He was surprised Four had lasted as long as he did, what with his short legs. It was at the five hour mark that his ankle buckled, grabbing onto Hyrule as he tumbled, pulling them both down. Hard. Four's knees were scraped and his chin made harsh contact with the ground. Ultimately, it could have been worse than a few scratches and bruises, but with their red potions having run out two days ago, the point had been silently made that they needed to rest soon. Wild was reluctant to stop in the middle of nowhere for the night, but Warriors' sharp look had him relenting. 

"How long until food's ready?" Sky had mumbled, falling face-first into his pillow. 

Wild poked at whatever he was cooking in that pot of his, pursing his lips as he added a few more slices of hydromelon. "Ten minutes or so." This elicited a groan from the majority from the group - some at the prospect of food, others at having to move to get it. Either way, Wild smiled.