Archive of Our Own

Wind was, to put it frankly, bored.

It had only been about thirty minutes since Time and Wild had left to go to a nearby river in the forest, leaving the rest of the Chain stuck in their makeshift camp until they returned, and Wind was already gnawing at the bars of his metaphorical enclosure.

He needed to do something. He’d been stuck listening to Legend and Warriors argue about seemingly nothing since the other two had left, and Wind was starting to think they were doing it just to get on his nerves.

It wasn’t like anyone else was doing anything interesting. Every time he checked (which was pretty frequently, seeing how he had nothing else to do) they were all doing the same thing—Legend and Warriors arguing; Sky, leaning against a log drowsily, trying to carve a piece of wood with a grumpy expression on his face, clearly unhappy about how early it was; Four, flipping through some recipe cards beside the Chosen Hero; Hyrule, trying to mediate the debate to no avail; Wild and Time out on some fishing trip and Twilight—

Wind practically jumped out of his seat. Twilight! He’d gone out to patrol some time ago, and while patrolling wasn’t the most exciting thing, it was way better than—

“What would you know about style? Anyone with style would know wearing that wretched scarf around makes you less attractive—”

“Excuse you?”

—whatever was going on here.

Wind jumped to his feet and cleared his throat. “I’m taking a piss!” He declared, rather crudely in the absence of Time, and then spun on his heel, towards the forest.

“Don’t wander off too far,” Sky yawned as Wind walked past, “it’s getting about time to make breakfast, and I’m not letting you escape Hyrule’s cooking. Oh, and if you see Twilight, tell him he’s being paranoid and that he can come back. No-one’s in danger except for maybe my ears, if I have to keep listening to those too for much longer.” He gave a pointed look towards the bickering pair, and Wind laughed.

“Yeah, right. Their arguing is lulling you right back to sleep,” Wind teased.

“You got me,” Sky replied with a grin, his grumpiness already starting to fade. “Their shrieking is music to my ears. Reminds me of the Loftwings at home.”

Laughing again, Wind promised to be careful before he stepped out of the camp and wandered into the trees, eyeing the tall trunks around him and the vast amount of them. He hoped Twilight hadn’t wandered far—despite what the others said about the vast sameness of the sea, Wind found navigating the trees to be much more difficult. Every tree looked the same, and he could hardly see the stars to navigate over the leaves above his head. He really didn’t want to get lost.

Wind walked forward for a little while, gazing between the trees for a glimpse of a familiar looking wolf-pelted man. After some walking, he caught a glimpse of wolf fur and hurried forward, ready to call out, before he snapped his mouth shut with no much force his teeth clicked together.

Nope. Not Twilight.

Real wolves.

Seven of them, ears pricked up and facing away from him, thankfully. They seemed to be staring at something, and Wind let his curiosity get the better of him as he poked his head around a tree and peeked to see what they were staring at.

He didn’t expect to see Wolfie, staring right back at all seven of the other wolves.

The largest wolf of the pack took a cautious step forward and sniffed at Wolfie, and in response Wolfie leaned back a bit, looking unsure of himself, with an expression Wind had never seen on his face before. Wind frowned. What, was Wolfie socially awkward, or something?

As if sensing his thoughts, Wolfie’s eyes flicked up and met his own. They widened and he quickly shot his eyes down again, but a wolf at the back of the pack had noticed his gaze and turned around, eyes landing on Wind and the tree he hid behind.

A snarl rumbled through the forest, and six other wolf heads turned to stare.

Oops.

“Nice doggies,” Wind said placatingly, holding up his hands in hopes that the wolves would somehow see it as a sign of peace. He was realizing now that he definitely should’ve brought his sword when he left camp. “No need to attack, I’m actually good friends with—”

The wolf nearest to Wind lunged.

Wind flinched back and dove behind the tree, the wolf’s jaws snapping against thin air as he barely managed to dodge. He stumbled backwards, ready to run, when his foot caught against a tree root and he stumbled, falling on his butt.

Damn trees! He cursed, scrambling backwards as the wolf, followed by its pack mates, took a hungry step forward. Faced with death, Wind did all he could—he cursed the forest and its stupid unstable ground. There were no roots to trip on in the ocean!

The wolf lunged again and Wind tensed, readying himself to roll out of the way as its jaws flashed nearer—

—there was a flash of dark fur and the attacking wolf was knocked out of the air with a high-pitched yelp. The other wolves snarled, but the sound quickly died down when the wolf pinned beneath Wind’s savior twitched and slowly went still between the strong jaws wrapped around its throat. Wolfie released the now dead wolf and raised his head to meet the rest of the pack’s eyes, a deep growl reverberating in the larger wolf’s chest.

The other wolves, being the smart animals they were, turned tail and ran.

Wolfie’s fur didn’t lay flat until the last sounds of the fleeing wolves melted into the distance. When they finally did, his fur laid flat and he quickly turned to see if Wind was injured. There was a comical amount of worry on his face for a wild animal, and Wind, having already recovered from the attack, gave him a reassuring pat on the head, careful not to touch his bloody muzzle.

“I’m fine, buddy,” he said, and Wolfie gave an unamused huff, whether at the nickname or the fact he didn’t believe him. Wind chose the latter. “I’m serious! I’m a pirate; I’ve faced plenty of hordes of monsters before, way worse than a couple of cowardly wolves—no offense. I would’ve been fine alone, and I’m even better than fine because you were there. No need to get your tail up in a twist, alright?” He stood up easily to prove his point, doing a little twirl to show he was unharmed.

While the last part of what he’d said was teasing, the rest was true. Wind, while younger than the other heroes, had faced terrible dangers the same as they had. A couple of wolves would’ve gotten him a bit scraped up, thanks to the tree root, but he would’ve gotten out okay. Wolfie was just being a worry-furry.

Sighing reluctantly—a funny sound for an animal to make—Wolfie seemed to accept that Wind was okay, giving him a small nudge in the direction of camp. Telling him to go back, Wind realized, as if he didn’t want him out on his own.

Wind crossed his arms. “I’m actually here to find Twilight. He’s been gone forever, and it’s almost breakfast. Wild said this forest had barely any monsters, and Sky told me to tell him he’s being super paranoid and that he’s gonna miss the breakfast experience.” “Experience” was certainly a word for it. Whether it was a good experience or not was entirely up to who was cooking in Wild’s stead.

(More often than not, the experience leaned on not good. Food poisoning, Wind had learned in his limited time with the Chain, was not fun.)

Wolfie huffed and gave him another, more forceful nudge. A hard no, it seemed. Stubborn ass wolf. Wind opened his mouth to protest more, before his words dried up and he thought of something else.

Pulling out his best pathetic, sad Sky eyes, Wind crouched down in front of Wolfie and cupped his furry face, gently rubbing his fingers against the wolf’s fuzzy cheeks. Wolfie leaned back, startled, but Wind didn’t let go—instead, he let out an all-suffering, tragic sigh.

“I guess it makes sense that Twilight would want to go out and protect us. He’s nice like that, y’know? Always looking out for us. But, it’s just…” Wind averted his gaze and then lifted his eyes up to meet Wolfie’s after a pause, channeling his all his newfound Youngest Brother energy to peer lonesomely at Wolfie, taking everything he’d ever learned from Aryll as he said, “Four’s sleeping, and Sky’s grumpy, and Legend and Warriors are arguing and Hyrule’s too busy to talk and Wild and Time are gone and—well, I’m kind of bored, and I thought maybe Twilight would want to talk to me…”

Was he guilt-tripping a literal wolf? Yes.

Wolfie stared back into Wind’s eyes sternly, but slowly, very slowly, his ears flattened against his head and he whined, giving Wind a small nudge.

Was it working?

…also yes.

Wind grinned. “So—”

Wolfie stood and padded past him, pausing when Wind didn’t follow. He barked, jerking his head towards camp, and it clicked in Wind’s mind.

“Oh. You’re coming with me?” He’d kind of been hoping Wolfie would feel bad and lead him to Twilight, but this could be good too. Wind had never had a pet, and Wolfie acted too human and too wild at the same time to be one, but…

Hanging out with a giant wolf would be cool, and so when Wolfie let out another impatient bark, Wind grinned and hurried after him.

—

Wind did not want to eat whatever was in front of him.

He wasn’t even sure what ingredients were sitting in his bowl. Fruit, maybe? But something in it was rock hard, as if someone had tossed some pebbles in it for an extra crunch. That could be entirely possible, Wind decided as he took a peek at Hyrule and Legend’s guilty faces. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was poking at rocks and mud tossed together and called “breakfast.”

Ah, the breakfast experience. Wind would’ve rather eaten the wolf corpse he and Wolfie had left out in the forest, he thought with a hint of disgust, but he kept his face nice and straight, because his grandma had always taught him to be respectful and kind, and Legend and Hyrule had tried their best. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe?

Wind left his theory unconfirmed as he waited for Hyrule and Legend’s backs to turn before scooping out a spoonful and plopping it on the ground beside Wolfie, desperately hoping the wolf would eat it. Once, he and Aryll had found a small stray kitten wandering around Outset, and they’d taken it into their house to nurture and raise it. Aryll, in her picky eater phase, had taken some of the food they’d eaten at dinner that night and had fed it to the cat under the table. The kitten had happily gobbled it up, and Wind’s grandma had been none the wiser. He hoped Wolfie would do the same thing.

(His mind left out the detail that the next day he’d found the kitten dead, poisoned by the food that the two of them hadn’t known wasn’t cat safe. He was sure Wolfie wouldn’t die—after all, the food wasn’t actively killing Sky as the Chosen Hero choked it down with a forced smile, so it wouldn’t kill Wolfie.

…probably.)

The wolf curled up beside him took one whiff of the slop on the ground and flinched back, as if hurt by the rancid smell of it. He gave Wind an unamused look and the sailor shrugged back innocently. “You’re a wolf,” he whispered with a teasing grin. “Aren’t those like dogs? Don’t dogs like gross stuff?”

Wolfie growled at him and snapped his jaws, tail thumping on the ground behind him playfully. Wind, desperate not to eat the food in front of him and eager to do something interesting, placed down his bowl and growled back. Wolfie tensed, ears perking, as Wind stilled, staring the wolf down.

Neither of them moved.

Wind lunged, ramming into Wolfie’s chest and shoving, sending the large wolf tumbling over with a yelp. For a second, Wind had the big wolf pinned, and he grinned triumphantly at the trapped wolf—but his cockiness was his downfall, and a second later Wolfie kicked his legs out from under him and rolled over, placing his entire body weight overtop of Wind with a heavy huff. Wind barely had a chance to shout before half his vision was obscured with thick fur and a large weight trapped him.

“Argh!” Wind cried, attempting to shove the large wolf off of him and barely moving him an inch, “get offa me, you hairy sea bass!”

Instead of listening, Wolfie began to pant, and when Wind took a moment to peek at the wolf, he spotted a thin strip of drool slowly drizzling out of the canine’s mouth and downwards, towards his trapped prey.

Wind’s thrashing grew harder and more frantic. “No!” he shrieked, kicking his legs and pounding at the wolf’s sides with his fists, to no avail. “Stop it! Warriors! Hyrule! Sky! Help! He’s drooling on me!”

He heard traitorous laughter from his companions as he struggled, and nobody made a move to help him out.

“You did this to yourself,” Legend sighed. “You challenged a wild beast to a fight, and now you learn your lesson.”

“Wolfie isn’t really wild, is he?” Sky asked, and dammit, were they really having a discussion while he was on the ground fighting for his life? Traitors, the lot of them! “He kind of acts like the Loftwings back home, if they were smaller and furrier and didn’t have wings. I thought wild animals didn’t interact with Hylians and such? Unless wolves are different—we don’t have them back on Skyloft.”

“I’m not sure,” Warriors admitted, and Wind began to get the feeling Wolfie wasn’t feeling any of his hits. “Wolfie’s different from any animal I’ve seen. I guess he could be counted as domesticated, since he hangs out with us, protects us, and is pretty gentle, all things considered. But at the same time, he wanders around in the wild and isn’t really with us all the time. Is that really what domesticated animals do?”

“Wolfie definitely isn’t some kind of pet dog.” Legend was talking now, but Wind was barely hearing him. He was too focused on the dog saliva trailing closer and closer to his face and the fact that his hits were growing weaker. The monster pinning him down didn’t look merciful, and Wind realized, with a surge of dread, that this might be it for him. “Have you seen the way he fights? He’s ripping out throats and tearing open stomachs—no domesticated dog would do that.”

Wolfie glanced down and Wind snapped his mouth shut as the drool dangled centimeters away from his face. He squeezed his eyes shut and sent one last goodbye to Tetra in his mind.

“But wild wolves don’t fight monsters,” Hyrule pointed out. “Not in my era. They hunt for food, and try to avoid fighting anything unless attacked. Plus, they’re pack animals—I haven’t seen Wolfie with a pack at all. He’s a lone wolf who helps us fight alongside monsters on Hylia’s journey. It doesn’t sound like he’s a regular wolf at all.”

Wind stopped fighting and accepted his fate.

Four finally piped in. “He’s a magical wolf who travels through time with nine reincarnations of the Hero’s Spirit. Obviously, there’s going to be some confusion on how he acts.”

Nothing happened.

Wind peeled an eye open and saw the drool gone, Wolfie licking his lips above him. There was a moment of surprise, and then Wind groaned in relief. “Thank you,” he croaked out, lifting up a hand from under him and stroking Wolfie’s fur. “I thought you were really gonna drool on me. You’re a good lad.”

Wolfie tilted his head and then leaned down, opening his mouth and licking Wind across the face.

He didn’t hear the rest of the conversation over the sound of his own betrayed screams.

—

Wind splashed the river water onto his face miserably, shooting a pitiful look in Wolfie’s direction where the wolf had decided to curl up and take a nap by Sky’s bedroll. The traitor didn’t lift his head up from his paws, but the way his tail wagged when he spotted Wind glaring made the sailor know the canine didn’t regret slobbering all over his face.

Wind heaved a sigh and turned before Wolfie could see his smile. He wasn’t actually mad—sure, it was gross, but it had been a distraction from Wind’s boredom, no matter how brief it had been. He grumpily wondered when Wild and Time were going to get back from their fishing trip. They were somewhere downstream, and were probably going to be for the rest of the day.

Time had wanted to get to know the newest member of the Chain a bit better, and so his genius old mind had thought of fishing. Twilight, always Time’s descendent, had thought it was a pretty great idea. The rest of the Chain had silently wished Wild well as he was dragged out for what would either be a great bonding time or the most boring experience of his life.

Not more boring than sitting in camp all day, Wind grumbled to himself. His mind trailed over to the conversation the others had had during his temporary imprisonment. He’d grown up on Outset, surrounded by sea, and there hadn’t been any wolves on his home island or on Tetra’s ship. He was admittedly less educated on them then he wanted to be, especially seeing how there was a wolf following them around 99% of the time, and he’d only learned today that Wolfie was apparently a “pack animal.”

He knew animals that lived in groups. Dolphin pods, schools of fish, flocks of seagulls—they all helped out one another, sought out food and shelter, relied on one another and formed close bonds that were as strong as Hylian friendships. A lone pack animal was a sad pack animal, just Hylians who lived alone tended to be more lonely and withdrawn. Sure, some people and animals enjoyed solitary, but he thought of how Wolfie gathered around them, and how he’d been watching the wolf pack before Wind showed up.

He couldn’t help but wonder—was Wolfie lonely?

A familiar yawn brought Wind back to the present, and he turned to see the lone wolf himself standing and stretching.

“On your way back to the forest?” Sky asked (alone? a traitorous voice in Wind’s head whispered. With no friends or family to keep you company?) “find Twilight and tell him to come back, okay? He’s been gone a while, I’m getting worried.”

Wolfie huffed in affirmative and, after he allowed Sky to give him a pat in farewell, padded back into the forest, melting into the shadows. Just like that, he was gone, and Wind stood from the riverside, walking over to the center of camp.

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Four until he was practically tripping over him, and Warriors caught him before he face-planted beside the smaller hero.

Four blinked in surprise. “Whoa, Wind, I know I’m small, but I’m not that small. You okay?”

“Yeah,” Warriors agreed, letting go when Wind was back on his feet, “you look distracted. Something on your mind?”

Wind flushed. He was fine, he should say. Just thinking. He should’ve been looking where he was going—he won’t do it again. He would’ve wondered how they’d gotten so good at reading him, if he wasn’t so caught up in his thoughts. Instead of saying any of that, though, he blurted out, “do you think he’s lonely?”

Four frowned. “Who?”

“Wolfie,” Wind explained, almost feeling foolish, but pushing past it. “Do you think he feels lonely?”

“Why would he?” Sky asked, looking concerned.

At the same time, Legend scoffed, “he’s a wolf—he can’t be lonely.”

Wind whirled around to face Legend. “Animals feel sadness, too!” He snapped. “There was once a seagull on Outset whose mate died. He got so sad he wouldn’t eat anything, and a couple of months later we found his body by the shore. Animals have emotions, Legend.”

To Wind’s surprise, Legend actually shut his mouth, a flash of pain crossing his face. Wind hadn’t known Legend cared about seagulls that much, but, hey, if it helped get his point across.

“But wait, why would Wolfie be sad in the first place?” Four repeated Sky’s earlier question. “He looked happy to me.”

“I was just thinking about packs,” Wind admitted, flopping down onto the nearest bedroll and not meeting anyone’s eyes. “You all mentioned how wolves are pack animals, but Wolfie is alone most of the time. Sure, he hangs out with us sometimes and fights, but otherwise he’s just in the forest by himself.”

Four frowned. “Lone wolves are a thing,” he pointed out. “Maybe Wolfie likes being alone.”

“Lone wolves are a thing, but not for long,” Warriors disagreed. “Wind’s right, wolves are pack animals, and lone wolves only exist to create a pack or find one. They’re not meant to be alone for long—it’s not in their nature.”

“Maybe Wolfie’s different?” Sky suggested.

“No,” Hyrule said quietly, and everyone turned to him. “Remember that one time we were talking about people we missed, and Wolfie was there?” Wind remembered. It had been a pretty solemn conversation. “I heard him whimpering like he was sad when we talked. Like—like maybe he was missing someone, too. Maybe his pack?”

“I saw him with some wolves today,” Wind added, “when I went out to find Twilight. He was just staring at them, but maybe…maybe he was feeling left out? Wishing he was part of one, too?”

Legend finally spoke. “As fucking stupid as it sounds, you could be right. He never hangs out for long, does he? He must be alone most of the time.”

There was a heavy silence between the six of them, and then Sky whispered, “So what do we do?”

Determination rising in him, Wind lifted his head and looked around at his brothers. “So,” he said, standing, conviction in his heart, “we find him a pack.”

—

“You’re not quiet at all, you know,” Legend huffed as he and Sky cut through the undergrowth of the forest, trying to dodge rocks and tree roots while maintaining a low profile.

Sky knew it wasn’t working, with all his heavy breathing and a stumbling, but Legend wasn’t any better himself. He was pretty sure the veteran had been cursing under his breath consistently since they’d started, and they’d only been out for a couple of minutes.

“So sorry, Mr. Stealthy,” Sky shot back, a playful tone to his words as he narrowly dodged a tree branch as Legend held it back and let it spring towards Sky’s face, “but I’m not used to excessive walking. What’s your excuse?”

Legend rolled his eyes and let out an amused huff as he held another branch back, this time waiting for Sky to pass before it let it fling back. “Whatever. Why couldn’t Wind have gone with us to find these wolves, again? Since he’s the one who made this plan and separated us all and saw the wolves to begin with.”

“He made the plan with the help of Warriors,” Sky pointed out, tripping over another root and barely biting back a curse as he almost fell flat on his face, “and he said he wanted to stay back and make a parting gift for Wolfie, or something.”

“That’s dumb,” Legend grumbled.

“I think it’s sweet. After all, this could be the last time we see him, if he chooses to stay with his new pack.” A melancholy feeling hung over the two of them at that. Sky had never really gotten to know the big wolf all that well, but the time he spent with them, fighting alongside the Chain and howling songs by the campfire during rare, cheerful nights had always made Sky feel as if the wolf was part of their group in some way. The idea of never seeing him again left a heavy feeling in Sky’s chest. “I’ll miss him.”

“Yeah, well,” Legend murmured, for once not offering a snippish retort, “sometimes you have to let go of people to make them happy.”

Sky hummed softly. He wished it wasn’t that way—he’d thought the wolf was content with them, but the points the others had made had made sense to him. He wasn’t a wolf expert, but everything seemed to add up to Wolfie feeling some sort of loneliness. Hylian or not, nobody should be alone.

“Although I don’t know what we’re planning on telling Twilight about all of this. Isn’t Wolfie his wolf companion or something? And why has he been gone for so long? Do you think—”

“Wait,” Sky interrupted, grabbing Legend by the back of his shirt and pulling the other hero to a stop. “Do you see that?”

Legend stopped to stare into the trees. The two of them stood, eyes raking over the land, but nothing seemed to happen. Legend scowled. “What? I don’t see—”

There was a deep growl, and Legend’s mouth snapped shut. They tensed as six shadowy figures slunk out from the trees, teeth bared, fur spiking.

“Did Wind ever tell us what we were supposed to do when we found the wolves?” Sky whispered, trying his best not to move an inch as the creatures seemed to creep closer.

“Bring them to a weird pond east from here,” Legend whispered back, stepping backwards as the wolves stepped forward. “Any ideas on how to do that?”

“Improvise?” Sky offered.

The wolves snarled and lunged.

From beside him, Legend reached into his pouch and yanked something bright and red out of it, brandishing it at the wolves with a shout. “Stay back!” He hollered. “You do what we say!”

With each swing, bursts of fire flew from Legend’s weapon, and the wolves scrambled back, yelping. A good tactic for scaring the wolves into submission in retrospect—not so much, however, when they were surrounded by miles of dry forest.

“Legend! The trees!” Sky cried.

The vet whirled around just in time to see a nearby tree burst into flames.

—

“I hope the others haven’t gotten into too much trouble while we’re gone,” Time chuckled to Wild as the two of them sat by the water, fishing rods in hand. It had become abundantly clear after a couple of moments with the younger boy that he’d never come in contact with a fishing rod in his life before—Time had had to explain how to use and hold one, and he’d had to lend his spare to Wild when it became obvious the champion was definitely not in possession of one himself.

Now, the smaller boy fidgeted with his rod, shuffling his feet and picking at the skin around his cuticles, seemingly unable to keep still. They’d caught a couple of fish already (there were some benefits to fish that had never seen a fish hook before) and while Wild had been delighted and astounded to catch his first fish on a rod, he was clearly only doing this for Time.

“I’m sure they’re fine.” Wild’s voice was quiet but clear when he chose to use it. “At least, I’m sure they’re not dead.”

Time huffed out a dry laugh. “If there’s trouble, they’ll find it. I suppose we just have to trust they can get themselves out of it before we get back.”

Wild smiled, amused, and nodded. A silence grew between the two of them, and within the past couple of hours they’d sat together, Time had grown to expect it. Wild seemed more content to sit and listen than do the talking, and Time was the one who had to fill the silences. A steady stream of questions, comments, and even stories left his mouth, and it was the most Time had probably spoken in a while. But Wild seemed to like hearing him talk, and he’d come to realize that the cook might’ve preferred it over saying things himself.

“I’ve been wondering, Wild,” Time began, and the champion glanced up at him, head tilting curiously. “If fishing rods don’t exist in your time, how do you fish?”

A grin spread across Wild’s face, one Time was starting to see more and more, and one that could only mean one thing: trouble.

“It’s better to show than tell,” the younger boy informed him solemnly, reeling in his line and then tossing the fishing rod gently to the side. Before Time could ask what he was doing, Wild pulled his shirt over his head, tossed it aside, and without another word, leaped into the water.

Time blocked his face from the splash, and when he lowered his arms he was faced with the image of Wild, bare-chested and splashing in the water, lunging for the tiny darting shapes in the river as if he could actually catch them. Before Time could say his doubts aloud, though, Wild let out a triumphant, “aha!” and lifted a wriggling fish into the air.

Time knew he looked stupid with shock written plainly on his face, but he couldn’t help it. “You madman—you actually got one?”

“It’s easy!” Wild cheered, the fish materializing into his Sheikah Slate as he reached down to grab more, “you just have to be faster than they are! Come on, Time, try it!”

Time almost said no. He was almost just content to sit and watch as Wild splashed water all over the place and touched slimy fish with his bare hands. But when the boy turned around to grin at him, eyes bright with a joy Time hadn’t seen on him since they’d found him in his Hyrule, he found himself stripping of his armor and jumping into the Hylia-damned river alongside the scarred kid, not even caring as every fish slipped out of his grasp and how his clothes began to weigh down with the weight of the water.

Wild was happy, and so was he. The others could avoid trouble for a day, and he was content to let them, as a fish jumped out of the water and slapped him across the face, if it meant hearing Wild’s laughter a little bit longer.

Everything was fine.

—

Everything was not fine.

“Shit!” Legend pocketed the fire rod, but it was too late. From the tree the flames spread, hopping from leaf to leaf, crawling down tree trunks and reaching its greedy hands into nearby bushes and piles of leaves. All around them, orange and red flames flickered, and smoke began to rise, clogging Sky’s mouth and nose until he could only stand and cough.

The wolves yelped and darted away, escaping faster than Sky himself wished he could.

Sky coughed, and the veteran’s eyes widened in panic.

“Are you—”

“I’m fine,” Sky interrupted, “but neither of us will be if we don’t do something!” Had he brought his Gust Bellows with him? The smoke was entering his nose fast, and he couldn’t remember over the sound of his coughs.

Legend began to shuffle through his bag, muttering curses as the flames grew higher around them. “Not that, not that—aha!” Legend yanked out another rod, this one a shimmering white, and with a swing the weapon produced a powerful wave of ice, smothering the flames in its path. He swung it around in circles, aiming high in the trees and lower at the smoldering grass, and in the flame’s place shards of ice began to appear, crawling up trunks and frosting the tips of the grass.

As quickly as it came, the fire was gone, leaving the surrounding area in a charred and frosty state. Sky took in a couple of smoke-free breaths, trying to get his lungs to readjust to the clear air. Although, it was still pretty hot…

“Your hair!” Before Sky could process the words there was a gust of freezing air and the heat disappeared, replaced by cold. Sky took in a deep breath and began to hack, lungs betraying him as they so normally did.

Legend hurried to Sky’s side. “Sorry,” he apologized, “your hair was on fire, are you alright? I didn’t expect the whole damn forest to burn, who even decided to make a place so flammable? Really, I’m going to have to have some words with Hylia—”

“I’m alright, Legend, jeez,” Sky wheezed, batting his well-meaning’s brother’s hands away. “I appreciate it, but you might smother me more than the smoke. I’m okay—it was only a little, it won’t damage my breathing any more than it already is. It’d take a bigger forest fire and a lot more time to do that.”

Legend took a step back, trying to look unworried and failing. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Just making sure. Time would have my head, y’know?”

“Right.” Sky rolled his eyes. And the others called him a mother cucco. Then he gasped (which triggered another coughing fit) and spluttered out, “we lost the wolves!”

Legend cursed and turned to survey the charred, frozen forest. “It’s okay—I think I remember where they ran, we can still salvage this.” Sky noticed the icicles on the tree branches and the bushes that had turned black from being burned, and felt a surge of guilt. Hopefully Wild wouldn’t be too angry at them for ruining his forest, although from what Sky had seen so far, he was sure the cook had probably done worse.

“They went that way,” Legend recalled, snapping Sky out of his thoughts. He turned to look at where his brother was pointing and, after a moment, he grinned.

“Legend.”

“Yes?”

“That way is east, to the pond.”

They both stared at each other for a second, faces covered in soot and clothes flecked with ice, before they burst into laughter.

“We did it, you psycho!” Legend howled, grabbing the other boy in a headlock and shaking him around.

“I’m not the one who burned down the forest!” Sky protested, shaking out of Legend’s grip with a laugh.

“You said improvise! I took your advice.”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

With a high-five, the two of them hurried east and left the ruined forest to defrost.

—

Four was not a cook.

He was pretty sure the fourteen year old boy tossing ingredients willy-nilly into the pot next to him wasn’t a cook either, no matter how much he protested against it.

“I help my grandma cook in the kitchen all the time!” Wind argued as he placed a pumpkin (where the hell had he gotten a whole pumpkin?) onto the tree stump next to him. “I know what to do, Four! Just listen to me!”

“Fine.” Four crossed his arms, unamused and unconvinced and all the other un- words he didn’t feel like listing, as he allowed himself to be bossed around by their youngest member. “What do you need?”

“A knife.”

Right. There was one of the many problems. “We don’t have any knives.”

Wind whirled around and put his hands on his hips, trying to look stern in an imitation of what was probably his grandma whenever she got upset. “What do you mean, ‘we don’t have any knives’? Are you not a Hero? Have you never done a dungeon? Find a solution! We’re surrounded by blades!”

Four’s eyes would’ve bugged out of his head if he widened them any further. “We can’t use a sword to cut food! That’s not what they’re made for! It would damage the blade, and plus, it’d be hard to find a blade that doesn’t have monster guts all over it.”

Wind scowled. “Why do you have to be so logical all the time? Ugh, I wish we hadn’t sent Sky off. He always keeps the Master Sword obsessively clean, and it’s a holy blade so it wouldn’t even get damaged.”

“Sky would never let you do that. He keeps it clean because the spirit that rests inside it is his friend—he would absolutely not let you cut a pumpkin with it.”

“That’s not true,” Wind argued, and Four found himself wishing, not for the first time, that he’d been sent off with a different group instead of volunteering to help Wind with Wolfie’s parting gift. “He once told me he stuck a pumpkin right onto the tip of the Master Sword during the early days in his adventure. He called it a sword hat!”

Before Four could process that, Wind’s eyes caught on something behind him and he gasped. “I have an idea!” The teenager raced off, leaving Four standing dumbfounded in his wake. Sky had done what? To his sacred blade?

“Voila!” Wind hurried up from behind him, something held in his hands as he approached the poor pumpkin awaiting its fate. “Watch my amazing problem-solving and be amazed.”

“You said ‘amaze’ twice,” Four sighed, “but sure, go ahead. I’m waiting to be shocked and impressed by your brilliance.”

Grinning, Wind lifted his hand just in time to see what was in it—a rock?—before the sailor slammed it down onto the pumpkin, creating an explosion of mush and seeds. Again and again, Wind slammed rock on pumpkin, and Four could only stand and watch.

After the longest minute of Four’s life, Wind finally turned and beamed, only to be met with Four’s horrified face. “What?”

“How did your grandma ever let you into her kitchen?” He breathed. If Wild was here, he’d be screaming. Or maybe not. If Sky was willing to stab a vegetable onto his sword, maybe Wild was willing to beat food with a rock when he ran out of knives. What did Four know, anyway?

“My grandma normally has kitchen knives,” Wind retorted.

Four rolled his eyes. “What else do you need?” Even though neither of them were cooks, he could still try and salvage this.

Wind perked up. “Well, thanks for asking, because I actually need a lot more stuff! We’ll need some sticks for the fire, maybe a fire rod, oh, and some water from the river, and, hey, did you see those mushrooms on the way to camp last night? Do you think they’re poisonous? Wouldn’t hurt to try—”

Nevermind. Wolfie wasn’t going to need a parting gift, because the poor guy would drop dead the second he smelled it.

—

Twilight knew the others were probably getting worried.

He’d been gone for almost the whole day “patrolling,” and nobody patrolled from morning ‘till past midday in a forest that had been confirmed to be safe without stirring up a little worry. He knew he would need a cover-up story, but it was taking him a little to think of a suitable one as he padded through the forest in search of a discreet place to shift back.

He’d had trouble with monsters, maybe? No, he wasn’t injured or even tired, they’d see right through that. Bowel issues? He dismissed that immediately—too awkward for everyone involved. He’d seen something dangerous? But then everyone would be on edge, and the forest was safe. Maybe he could tell them he’d gotten lost. Wild’s Hyrule was big, after all, and that wasn’t unbelievable. Yeah, he could definitely—

“Wolfie!”

Twilight nearly jumped out of his fur at the sound of Hyrule’s shout. He turned to face the direction of the traveler’s voice, ears flattening with concern. Normally, when Wolfie left, everyone let him. He couldn’t imagine why they’d suddenly need him mere minutes after he’d gone, not unless there was trouble.

“Wolfie!” Hyrule sounded more frantic now. Twilight growled in response and ran to his voice, paws thrumming powerfully over the forest floor as they were made to do, heart pounding in his chest. Was there danger? Did they need him to fight? Was someone injured? Maybe they couldn’t find Time and Wild, or maybe Wind had met the wolves again and he hadn’t been there to help like he had been before. A million horrible scenarios ran through his mind, and when he burst into view of Hyrule, he half expected to see a bloodbath.

“Wolfie!” This time it was relieved. “You’re still here! Oh, I’m so happy, I thought you might already have vanished. You’re very hard to find when you don’t want to be, y’know.” Twilight blocked out Hyrule’s chatter, rushing forward, ears still pinned flat to his head as he sniffed at the other boy, checking for any injuries or distress. Why had he called? Was he alright?

“Everything’s fine, boy,” Hyrule assured him as he was checked over. He smelled normal—no blood, no panic, nothing dangerous, unless you counted the vague remains of whatever he’d cooked up that morning for breakfast. So why had Hyrule been so urgent about finding him? “Don’t give me that look. We need you, it’s just not for anything scary. Oh! That reminds me!”

Hyrule turned into a seemingly random direction in the forest and began to holler, “Warriors!” Twilight flinched back at the noise, alarmed that it was coming from Hyrule of all people. The traveler seemed to value the idea of being quiet in unfamiliar, possibly dangerous places—something that, in Twilight’s opinion, was a good thing to value. He supposed they’d been in Wild’s Hyrule for long enough to know this specific part of the woods was safe, but still! Twilight couldn’t help but growl.

“It’s alright,” Hyrule reassured him, placing a hand on top of Twilight’s head and petting, something he allowed him to do because it was Hyrule (and also because he found it hard to snap at any of his brothers, no matter how much he didn’t want to be seen as a pet). “There’s no bad magic here. Animals can sense that kind of stuff, right? Just smell or sense around you, and you’ll see. The worst thing we’ll see for miles is Legend’s attitude.”

Twilight would’ve huffed in amusement if he hadn’t heard, at that exact moment, the snap of a twig from behind him.

He whirled, teeth bared, only to calm a second later when he saw it was just Warriors. “Sorry, bud,” the captain said, reaching out a hand to scratch at the side of Twilight’s face, something he definitely didn’t lean into. “Didn’t mean to startle you.” Twilight pulled away. He had not been startled! He was wary! Warriors straightened, ignored Twilight’s deadpan look, and said to Hyrule, “good job finding him. I was worried we’d have to tell Wind all his hard work was for nothing.”

Hard work? Twilight nipped gently at the pads of Warriors’ fingers, curiosity overtaking him. What were they talking about? He couldn’t help but wish he was in his Hylian form so he could ask.

Warriors smiled down at him, but there was something melancholy about it that made Twilight worried. Was everything alright? He didn’t like having so many questions with no way to ask them.

“Could you follow us?” Warriors asked. “We’d like to bring you somewhere.” Twilight tilted his head but let out an affirming huff. He’d been stuck as a wolf all day and didn’t particularly want to stay like a wolf for much longer, but he knew it’d eat at him if he said no. Warriors was a punctual man; he wouldn’t take long.

“Wind said bring him to the pond east of camp by the time the sun starts to sink in the sky—I think we’re already a little late,” Hyrule piped in. “If we go now I think we’ll make it, though.”

Warriors winced. “We’re late?”

Like he’d said. Punctual.

Hyrule rolled his eyes. “It took us a while to find him, Wars. We’ll still make it, though! The others might be late too.”

“Of course they are,” Warriors sighed, and, with a quick beckon to Twilight, the three of them began to walk. “I can’t believe we let Wind plan most of this. So much could go wrong.”

“You helped with the plan too,” Hyrule pointed out, and Twilight almost shifted back right there and then to demand what this plan exactly was. “It’s not all Wind’s fault. And if it works, it’ll be worth it, right? For Wolfie.”

“I guess you’re right,” Warriors murmured, and a sadness fell over the two of them a second time. Twilight whimpered and nudged the bottom of Hyrule’s hand. What was going on? Why were they upset?

Hyrule used his other hand to wipe away a tear gathering at the corner of his eye before he reached down and scratched at Wolfie’s ear. Wolfie could always tell a lot about a person based on how they pet him—Hyrule clearly had little experience with animals, his fingers fumbling for the right place to land and stay, while Wild, for example, clearly didn’t know how animals worked, more content to sit, feed, and then watch him eat than actually pet him.

“You’re a good wolf, y’know that?” Hyrule sniffled. “Very strong and fierce. You’ve helped us a lot.” Again, Twilight wished he was Hylian so he could tell Hyrule how much he meant in return. Instead, he settled for licking the palm of the traveler’s dusty hand and hoping it conveyed enough meaning.

Then, to his own shock, Warriors spoke up. “Hyrule’s right.” He wouldn’t meet the wolf’s eyes, but Twilight could sense the sadness, not too different from Hyrule’s, radiating off of him. “You’ve been a great asset for us all. We hope we can repay you and everything you’ve done for us.”

Every word out of their mouths left Twilight more confused, but he licked Warriors’ palm, too, despite the fact it tasted like cold metal and the hilt of a sword. He wished he had a better way to show gratitude in his wolf form, he thought as he regretfully licked his lips to be rid of the taste. He also wished he knew what was going on.

The rest of the walk didn’t reveal anything. It was quick, with Warriors stressing about being late the entire time, but otherwise quiet. When they finally arrived in a clearing nearby a pond, nobody was there.

“Are you kidding,” Warriors deadpanned.

Hyrule shrugged. “Told you.”

There was the distant sound of footsteps that slowly grew closer to the pond, and Twilight looked up, ears perked, but not worried. He knew those scents—it was Four and Wind, along with the smell of something distinctly…pumpkin-y. He rumbled in greeting when the two of them stumbled out of the trees, and Wind beamed when he saw him.

“You’re here! They found you! Good.” While the sailor sounded genuinely happy they’d found him, there was a layer of sadness in his voice, one that made Twilight’s fur itch. Why were they here? Why did they need him? Why was everyone sad?

“Sorry for being late,” Four apologized. “We’re not the best cooks.”

“Speak for yourself, matey,” Wind huffed. “I was a natural.”

Four muttered something about a poor grandma under his breath. Then, louder, “where’re the other two?”

There was an eruption of distant yelps and snarls and Twilight whirled around to face the pond. In the spot they were in, they were secluded by the trees and the shadows of the forest with a good view of the nearby body of water. So, when a pack of six terrified wolves came bursting out of the trees and skittering to a halt by the pond, the group of four heroes went unnoticed.

“Is that one on fire?” Wind asked, but Twilight didn’t look back at the kid’s voice, focused on the pack as they splashed in the water, trying to stop the flames on their fur. “I thought I told them not to hurt them!”

“You sent Legend after them,” Warriors shot back. “What’d you expect?”

“Legend can be very nice to animals,” Hyrule argued.

Four gave a pointed look at the nearest whimpering wolf and Hyrule could only shrug. “I thought Sky was with him?”

“I’ve seen Sky toss a cat off Skyloft.” Warriors sighed. “Sure, it could fly, and it was allegedly ‘evil,’ but it was still a cat. This could’ve been his doing, for all we know. They probably weren’t the best pair to send after them.”

“We got the job done like you asked, pretty boy. Be grateful we found them at all!”

They all started at the voice and turned to see Legend and Sky picking their way out of the underbrush. The tips of Sky’s hair were singed and covered in frost, and Legend’s face had smears of something dark and smokey on it. They both smelt like Barnes’ storage house after its unfortunate…explosion, and Twilight’s mind was taken off of the pack for a second to wonder what the hell had happened to them.

“What happened to you two?” Four asked the question Twilight couldn’t.

“Fire,” Legend sighed.

“Ice,” Sky said at the same time. Then, to Warriors: “and what you saw me toss was a Remlit. Those things are evil, and they deserve to be tossed. Is everyone ready?”

There was a chorus of affirmation, and that’s when Twilight decided he couldn’t take it anymore. He growled, low so the pack at the pond wouldn’t hear, but loud enough that it got his brothers’ attention. What. Is. Going. On.

It was clear his point got across. “Sorry, Wolfie,” Wind said, stepping forward. Everyone fell silent as their youngest lowered a bowl, the source of the strong pumpkin scent Twilight had been smelling, and placed it in front of Twilight. It was filled with what looked like mashed pumpkins and what was possibly a drizzle of honey on top, and while it looked…unprofessional, it smelled surprisingly okay.

“Me and Four made it,” Wind explained as he took a step back and Twilight began to sniff at it. Was it for him? Despite himself, he was suspicious. It didn’t smell like there was anything prank-like mixed into the bowl, but everything about the situation screamed confusing and strange. “We—all of us—just wanted to show you how much we care about you and everything you’ve done for us. You’re a good wolf, and while none of us know a lot about wolves, we want you to be happy.”

Twilight wagged his tail to let Wind know he appreciated it, and he shoved his nose into the bowl to eat. The pumpkin was a bit on the strong side, and while it tasted nothing like something Wild could cook up or even remotely close to, Twilight had eaten bee larvae and had drank purple chu goop. This was definitely one of the better things he’d put in his mouth.

As he ate, Warriors stepped forward. “Even though you’re a wolf,” he began, “you were still a good soldier, and every good soldier deserves a family. That includes you.”

Sky spoke next. “I don’t know a lot about wolves,” he admitted. “We don’t have them up in the sky, and I haven’t met any on the Surface. My obliviousness to your kind makes me feel a bit guilty. But I don’t need to know wolves to know no other wolf can compare to you.”

“Really,” Wind added, “you’re the best wolf in all of the Hyrules.”

Twilight looked up and licked pumpkin goop off his nose, head tilting in confusion. Was this some sort of appreciation gathering of sorts? Then why was grief rolling off of everyone in waves? And—was Legend tearing up?

Twilight took a concerned step forward, whining, but Legend waved him off. “I’ve got ash in my eye,” he choked out. “Back off.” Sky wrapped a comforting arm around the vet’s shoulder, his own eyes watery, and it said a lot that Legend didn’t shove him off.

“We noticed,” Four began to explain, finally, “that you were alone most of the time. If you want to go with the other wolves, that’s okay with us. Whatever makes you happy.”

Oh. Ohhh. Twilight almost laughed. Were they trying to get him to make friends? He supposed it made sense—they didn’t know his secret, so to them it must seem like he was alone and miserable most of the time. The tears were a bit excessive, but, in all honesty, it touched Twilight’s heart that his brothers were so worried about his well-being, even if they didn’t know it was truly him.

He took a step forward and nudged his snout against Four’s hand. It’s okay, I’m not alone, he tried to say. I’ve got you.

Sky shook his head. “You don’t have to be brave. We want you to be able to go, if you want to.”

Twilight stifled a sigh. His brothers were lovable, but they were still idiots. With a roll of his eyes, he turned and padded to the pond, where the other wolves had begun to pick up on nearby activity. They tensed when he approached, and he lowered his tail to the ground, trying to look unthreatening. He didn’t particularly want to chat, but if it would make his brothers stop feeling so sad, he could give a quick hello and then leave.

He was a bit wary. The rest of the Chain clearly didn’t know how aggressive wild packs of wolves could be, especially towards strange lone wolves that gave off magical energy, and while they meant well, Twilight really hoped he wouldn’t be attacked. He let out a tentative hello? in their direction, and all six wolves narrowed their eyes in return.

This was clearly their territory, and they clearly weren’t happy he was there. He guessed the only reason they hadn’t gotten too aggressive was because of the five armed strangers, two of which who’d set some of them on fire (allegedly? Twilight still wasn’t sure what had happened), watching them. As the nearest wolf took a step forward and sniffed cautiously at Twilight, he found himself thinking they seemed slightly familiar…

There was a shuffling sound from the Chain’s watching spot, and all of the wolves, Twilight included, turned to look as one, two, and then all of the heroes turned and walked into the forest, leaving Twilight alone with the pack.

Twilight turned back to the wolf, significantly more stressed out than before. Why the hell had they left him alone? Was this some sort of joke?

The nearest wolf to him snarled. Killer. The other wolves began to growl along with their leader.

Twilight felt a sinking feeling in his gut as he realized why, exactly, this pack seemed so familiar. It was the same group of wolves he’d fought and killed a member of just that morning.

Shit.

Killer, the wolves growled around him, advancing, their deep growls reverberating off of the nearby pond water and into his ears, a painful reminder of every mistake he’d ever made since joining the Chain. Playing along with whatever this was, by far, was one of the biggest ones.

His brothers were idiots, and so was he.

He could hear the sound of Midna’s laughter as the first wolf pounced.

—

Wild and Time headed back to camp drenched to the bone and grinning from ear to ear.

The sun was sinking low beneath the horizon, a clear show of how long the two of them had really been out by the river. They’d left shortly after Time had managed to catch his first fish bare-handed (the two of them had cheered so loudly when it happened that he wouldn’t have been surprised if the rest of the group had heard from camp and had come running to check on them), and the remaining light of day was starting to fade, swamped by the shadows of night.

Despite the sound of their own laughter drowning out the noises of the forest, Time still heard the boys when he and Wild got near. They both fell silent at a distant, unidentified shout, followed by a miserable wail in return. The two soaked heroes exchanged a glance. In a moment of silent agreement, they nodded and moved faster.

“…had to leave!…” Legend’s angry voice drifted past the trees and into Time’s ears. “…your bawling…scare them away!” He felt his mouth turn downwards in a frown at the vet’s tone. Angry and teasing was common for Legend, yes, but there was a certain choked sound to it as Time listened now.

“My bawling?…” the captain’s voice, now. “I kept my composure! You…”

“That’s not true!” Louder, now. It was a miracle no faraway monsters had heard their shouting, for how loud it was. “And it doesn’t matter why we left! We had to give him privacy and we couldn’t be there all day! They seemed fine to me!”

“Do you think we did the right thing?” Wind’s voice, normally bright and energetic, was sorrowful in a way that made Time’s heart go cold.

“It doesn’t matter if we did the right thing or not,” Warriors replied, considerably more gentle as he spoke to their youngest. “What matters is that we did it with our best intentions at heart, and now we have to figure out the right way to break it to the others.”

“Wild’s going to kill us,” Legend groaned. “And Time’ll be so pissed—”

“What exactly,” Time said lowly, stepping out of the cover of the trees, Wild following after him, “did you do that’ll be so upsetting to us?”

Legend leaped into the air like a startled bunny and the rest of them instinctively reached for their weapons. Flashes of recognition and then dread filed onto each and every boy’s face, and there was a heavy, pregnant pause as they all stared at one another, air crackling with tension.

Four broke the silence with a, “not it,” and reached his hand up to put his finger on his nose.

Legend, Wind, Hyrule, and surprisingly even Warriors all echoed the action. Slowly, each boy’s gaze trailed down to Sky, who was leaning against a log, head drooping to the side, the poor boy clearly half-asleep and not following the conversation. Wind shuffled over, finger still on his nose, and nudged Sky with his foot.

The Chosen Hero snorted awake. “Huh—wha—”

“Time’s here,” Wind hissed. “He wants you to explain.”

Sky’s eyes widened and he straightened, all sleepiness immediately leaving his body. “Uh-oh. Why me?”

“You didn’t touch your nose,” Wind whispered, and then he shuffled away back to the other boys.

Sky heaved out a sigh too big for someone his age, looking up at Time with the saddest, most pathetic eyes he’d ever seen, miserable enough that he almost felt bad for the way he stood, stern and tall, in front of him. But he didn’t speak, instead giving Sky the time to gather his words.

“I don’t know a lot about wolves,” Sky mumbled, “but I heard they’re pack animals. They can’t be alone. We noticed that Wolfie was mostly always alone, and felt bad, so…we found a pack for him. Now he’s gone. We’re sorry—we should’ve let you say goodbye, but we were worried he’d leave and there’d be no packs when he came back…”

Wild gave Time a confused look. Unfortunately, Time couldn’t offer an explanation for Sky’s explanation. He was confused himself. They’d…found Wolfie a pack? They’d found Twilight a pack? A pack of what, exactly? The rancher’s wolf identity was a secret to everyone except for Wild and Time himself, and yet he was baffled.

“I’m sorry,” Time began, and everyone cringed at the slow tone of his voice. “You’re telling me you sent Wolfie off to a…pack of wolves?”

“We thought he was lonely,” Four said. Then, “it wasn’t my idea.”

“It was Wind’s,” Legend agreed.

Time raised a hand to cut off the beginnings of Wind’s shouting. “You’re telling me you had a concern about a wolf, and you chose to follow the advice of a boy who’s barely even seen a wolf before?”

A pause. Then Warriors said, “he made some good points?”

“Where’s T—Wolfie now?” Wild spoke up from behind Time.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Before anyone could respond, none other than Twilight himself stumbled out of the trees and into camp, panting as if he’d run miles, covered in dirt and scratches and—was that a bite mark on his ear? Time stepped forward in concern, but he was waved off as Twilight caught his breath.

“Twilight! Are you okay? You’ve been gone all day! Is that blood?” Hyrule cried, at the same time Legend groaned out, “how are we going to explain this to him?”

“What happened?” Wild hurried over to Twilight, fluttering around him like a worried cucco.

“Nothin’. Small skirmish, is all,” Twilight managed to gasp out. “No big injuries, I dealt with it.”

Wild frowned, but when he seemed to find truth in Twilight’s words, a small, amused grin appeared on his face. “We heard Wolfie found a new pack.”

Twilight groaned. “I know.” He sounded so exhausted that Time couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. Twilight shot him a glare, one with no real head behind it, as he straightened and turned to face the rest of the Chain, before he turned to Time.

It was as good a time to tell them all as any, Time supposed. It would certainly clear up the misunderstandings. Time nodded, and Twilight took a deep breath, bracing himself.

“I…I have to tell you…” he shot Time a panicked look, and he tried to give his protégé an encouraging one back. “That…” he looked at the ground. “That I saw Wolfie on my way back.”

Time turned and stifled a sigh. One day Twilight’s lies would catch up to him, but it would be hypocritical for Time to be too angry about it. The boy would have to learn his lesson on his own.

“You saw him?” Wind perked up. “Is he okay?”

“…he’s fine,” Twilight mumbled, and Wild and Time swapped amused looks. If fine was “dirtied, scratched up, out of breath and lying through his teeth,” then Wolfie was fantastic. “He, uh—didn’t join the pack.”

“He didn’t?” Wind deflated. “Oh.”

“He—not because—he appreciated the sentiment, but—”

“What Twilight means to say,” Time began before Twilight could dig himself into a deeper hole, “is that Wolfie doesn’t need a new pack, because he already has one.”

Wind blinked. “He does?”

“Yep.” Time wrapped an arm around Twilight’s neck, half as a comforting gesture and half so he couldn’t run away. “You see, he doesn’t need a pack of wolves to keep him happy, because his real pack is all of you.”

Blank looks. Then Hyrule seemed to beam. “Really?”

“Really,” Time promised. “He’s just not very good at showing it.” Time shook Twilight gently and his protégé went red in the face as Wild snickered behind him.

A tension the group hadn’t noticed was there seemed to ease out of the air, and there were multiple relieved sighs and happy murmurs. Sky sank against the log again with a peaceful smile, eyes beginning to droop closed again, and Legend refused to look anyone in the eye (Time had a feeling it had to do with the crying accusations he’d heard of earlier).

“Is he mad at us?” Wind asked. “For trying to get him to join the pack, I mean. We didn’t mean to send him away. We thought that’s what he wanted.”

Twilight sighed and shook his head. “No, he ain’t mad. He understands. Though, next time,” he added, sending his glare to the entirety of the Chain as he spoke, “maybe think about discussin’ something with the whole group before you do it, and ‘specially discuss it with the person, or wolf, it’s about before you send ‘em packin’, you hear?”

“We hear,” the six troublemakers chorused, and most of them had the decency to look ashamed.

Time let go of Twilight and shook his head. “Can’t leave any of you alone for a day without you all getting into trouble, can I?” He complained, to which Wind stuck out his tongue.

“As if you’re any better, old man,” Twilight teased. “Why’re you all wet? I thought you were fishin’, not swimmin’.”

Wild chose that moment to burst out from behind Time and Twilight and declare into the night sky, “Time caught a slimy fish with his bare hands!”

Time sighed for what felt like the tenth time since he’d gotten back. This group would be the death of him.