"Pictographs"
"Would you stop that?" Legend demanded.
It took a minute for Wind to realize the words were meant for him until Legend yelled his name. Well, his nickname. He lowered the Pictobox. "Huh?"
"You're slowing us down."
"I'm not," Wind insisted, but he got up anyway and jogged to catch up with everyone else. "See? I'm here."
Legend rolled his eyes. "Sure, now you are. But in five minutes, you'll be gone again, and one of us will have to yell at you."
"Nah uh," Wind objected.
"I'm with Legend on this one," Four spoke up, not unkindly. "You've been running around taking pictographs all day."
"Because we changed worlds again!" Wind exclaimed, throwing his arms wide and nearly hitting Sky. "Everything's new!"
"And you can't just look with your eyes like the rest of us?" Legend grumbled.
Of course Wind could. He could just take everything in and store it within his memory but his memory was private. He couldn't share it with anyone else. Yes, describing it to other people was an option, but then they never got to see what he saw. They saw whatever image his description inspired, and he wasn't the best with words so that image could never match up with the truth.
He wanted to be able to show his family and neighbors where he'd been and what he'd done. He wanted to show the pirates that he wasn't making things up and everything he said had actually happened. (Because he and Tetra hadn't been on the Ghost Ship for only ten minutes, thank you very much!) He wanted to show Tetra what their new kingdom could be like someday.
So he turned to pictographs.
Wind had just about figured out how to convey all that, but Wild interjected before he could speak.
"It's different. When you take a picture, you capture a moment in time forever. They're like…memories you can't lose." That last part was almost whispered but Wild perked up again a second later. "I take lots of pictures too."
"You do?" Wind wondered, curious excitement putting a bounce in his step.
Wild nodded and slipped that weird slate off his hip. None of them really knew what it was. All Wind knew for sure was that it somehow contained a map and Wild could pull weapons, clothes, and food out of it like it was an enchanted adventure pouch. Oh, and it was called the "Sheikah Slate". Who knew what a "sheikah" was supposed to be, though.
After a bit of tapping, Wild paced himself so he was walking beside Wind and lowered the slate so the younger boy could see what was on the screen. It was a vibrantly colored pictograph of some animal with orange fur drinking at a stream.
"Whoa, what is that?"
"A fox."
"Are they friendly?"
Wild hummed in thought. "Kind of. They're really skittish."
Sliding his finger across the screen, a new pictograph popped into existence. This one was of a magnificent waterfall. The quality was so good that if Wind looked close he could see individual drops of water spraying out from the point of impact. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't jealous of how crisp and clear Wild's pictographs were. Even with the Deluxe Pictobox his captures always turned out slightly grainy.
Wild flicked through a few more pictures until he got to one that made Wind gasp. Not because of the quality –he'd already grown accustomed to the shocking life-likeness of them –but because…
"I do that too!" Wind exclaimed, pointing at the mini Wild captured perfectly in the screen, grinning as he held the slate away from him and cupped the sunset in one hand.
"You do?" Wild wondered.
"Yeah, look!" Wind quickly flipped through the pictographs on his Pictobox to find the one he wanted and held it up so Wild could see.
The long-haired teen's smile only grew wider. "Know what this means?"
"No, what?" Wind asked, lowering his Pictobox.
"We have to take one together."
Wind punched the air. "Yes!"
"On mine, on mine!" Wild insisted with equal excitement.
Wind pocketed his Pictobox and waited impatiently while Wild tapped furiously on his slate.
When Wild finally held it at arm's length, Wind was shocked to see his own face looking back at him. Yet another feature his Pictobox did not have.
"Ready?" Wild asked.
Wind made a silly face in response.
After an audible snap Wild brought the slate closer so they could both view the pictograph.
"Great, we have two children to look after now."
Both "children" promptly stuck their tongues out at Legend.
Everyone else laughed.
"I have no problem with that as long as no one gets lost," Time declared. Wind didn't think he had to worry about that. Wild had a map.
"Did you hear that, cub?" Twilight called.
"Yeah, yeah." Wild waved a hand in dismissal before raising the slate again so they could take another pictograph together. His fellow hero had instructed him to make his hand into a fist and raise all fingers except for the middle and ring one. Wind didn't really understand why, but Wild just said it was something his friend, Purah, did so he went with it.
"I'm going to confiscate this," Twilight said, grabbing the slate and forcing Wild to look at him.
"You will not."
"Try me."
"Don't take it away!" Wind begged, leveling Twilight with his best puppy dog eyes.
"Yeah, don't take it away," Wild echoed.
Twilight stared right back at both of them, unfazed. "Pay attention then. You're supposed to be leading us right now. This is your Hyrule, after all. And we agreed, whoever's Hyrule we're in leads the way."
"I would love to sleep in a bed tonight," Warrior said into the resulting silence. "Just saying."
"Fine," Wild relented, tugging the slate out of Twilight's hold and returning it to his hip.
Wind struggled to keep the disappointment off his face. No one appreciated pictographs like he did except for Wild and now the others were stopping them from sharing that appreciation.
"Come on," Wild nudged his shoulder. "We'll just take pictographs in the front. You can use your camera."
"Pictobox."
"Right, Pictobox."
With that, Wild moved back to the front of the group, and Wind followed.
Their plan to be sneaky and take pictographs backfired spectacularly because Twilight was watching them both like a hawk and even if he wasn't, the others would have noticed and complained every time they stopped to raise a Pictobox or a slate.
It was probably for the best, as they did pass by a few travelers being attacked by monsters not even ten minutes later. Being heroes, they were obligated to run to the rescue, and then because Wild insisted, they took out the nearby monster camp as well. And if he and Wind snapped a couple pictographs in between all that chaos, well, who could blame them? Action shots were valuable, after all.
Despite the few unexpected detours, Wild did manage to get them to a stable a good hour before sundown. The stables, according to Wild, were inns of sorts for travelers on the road. Wind wasted no time in taking plenty of pictographs, both of the stable and the horses. He was still fascinated by horses, though he didn't like riding them very much. Too uncomfortable.
What was most shocking, though, was Beedle. He looked a little different but his name and occupation were the same and judging by Sky's reaction, there was a Beedle in his era too. Of course, Wind wasn't stupid. He didn't go up and ask the man if he was the same Beedle he knew. (Which was unlikely, all things considered.) But he did go up and say hello and purchase some more arrows. He passed on the bugs, though they did interest him since he'd never seen insects quite like those before. And from that brief interaction he concluded that no, this Beedle was not the same Beedle he knew. Not only because he didn't recognize him but because his hearty "thank you's!" and "bye's" were oddly absent. Though the man was just as friendly as the shop keeper Wind knew, that much was for certain.
Another key thing Wind noticed about the stable was this: it was not equipped to handle nine heroes. That was partly the reason why he was outside with most of the others at the moment, sitting near a cooking pot and playing cards with Four, Warrior and 'Rule. Legend was disqualified for cheating. Amateur. Wind had been cheating for the last five turns and he hadn't been caught. Living with pirates had its perks.
Contrary to what one might think, he wasn't cheating because he thought it was right. No. He was cheating to make it fair. Warrior was definitely cheating; he just knew how to hide cards well so he hadn't been caught. Four was probably cheating, and 'Rule…well, he wasn't entirely sure what was going on with 'Rule's hand. Sometimes it was awful and sometimes he had just the right card at the right time. Wind hadn't been able to pin it down to luck or cheating yet.
"I'm going out to get some ingredients for dinner," Wild's announcement drew everyone's attention.
"Not alone you're not," Twilight said, standing.
"I'm not going alone. Wind's coming with me."
"What?" Wind didn't remember agreeing to that.
"You want to see more of my Hyrule, don't you?"
Wind stood and passed his cards to Legend, ignoring the protests from the other players. He couldn't deny that.
"Don't go too far," Time called after them.
Wild waved a hand in acknowledgement as the two heroes walked away from the stable.
"What do we need to get?" Wind asked after a solid minute of walking in silence.
"Nothing."
"What?"
"I have everything I need to make dinner."
"Then why-"
Wild shot him a mischievous grin that Wind automatically liked. He held up the Sheikah Slate. "We have to take advantage of golden hour."
Wind laughed. "What is that?"
"It's before the sun sets. Everything looks prettier." Looking around, Wind could confirm that.
"Besides, there's something we definitely need to take a picture with. Here." Wild passed the Sheikah Slate to him. "This is the camera rune." The older boy tapped on a green icon that vaguely looked like a Pictobox and the screen came to life, capturing the ground in front of him. "Swipe down to flip it." After doing what Wild said, the screen reflected Wind's own face back at him. "And click this when you're ready." Wild positioned his hand next to a button on the side of the slate.
The slate was foreign in his hands but after a few tries and corrections from Wild, Wind got the hang of it. Then Wild clued him in to his plan and Wind couldn't stop smiling. This was going to be awesome.
Wind was positioned a fair distance away, gripping the Sheikah Slate tightly. Not too far away. Just far away enough that the beast Wild was approaching wouldn't notice.
And it was a beast if Wind ever laid eyes on one. It was huge and blackish-blue with the body of a horse and the torso of a heavily-muscled monster. Its face was swallowed up in a blue mane, and its weapons looked positively deadly. Wild said it was nothing to worry about. He'd taken out plenty of Lynels before. So long as Wind did what he said, they'd be fine.
Yet Wind couldn't help the apprehension that made his hands slick with sweat and his stomach tight. Every alarm bell in his head was ringing saying this thing was dangerous dangerous, and they shouldn't be anywhere near it. Especially just to mess around.
But it was just a few pictographs. A quick in and out. That was the plan. They weren't actually going to fight it. He steeled himself with this thought and watched Wild with bated breath. Missing his cue would be bad.
The blue-clad hero hadn't lied. Just from observing Wind could tell he knew what he was doing. Wild moved impossibly fast, and before Wind knew it, the scarred hero had swung himself onto the Lynel's back.
"Wind, now!"
He darted towards the bucking monster and skidded to a stop as close as he dared, before turning around and holding up the Sheikah Slate. The chaos playing out behind him sent a shock of terror through him but elation as well, and the worried face he made at the slate as he snapped the first pictograph wasn't entirely fake.
Wind let his eyes drift in different directions to mimic the craziness behind him for the next one. And for the third he simply smiled, gesturing at Wild riding the Lynel to showcase the sheer epicness of it all.
He was in the middle of setting up a fourth pose when the Lynel succeeded in unseating its rider.
Wild had warned him it would happen and to run when it did. So that's what he did.
Only neither of them had counted on the Lynel being so fast.
A half scream was all the warning he received before the massive monster charged straight at him. Wind didn't bother turning to look his doom in the face. He dropped into a tumble and rolled to the side. The ground shook as the Lynel missed him by a breath.
Wind shot to his feet as soon as he was able and this time he couldn't help looking. The Lynel had ground itself to a halt and was in the process of turning around to face him for another rush. At least, that's what Wind had assumed at first but the Lynel was too still. It was almost like it was winding up for something.
"WIND!" His attention shot to Wild, who was running towards him and frantically motioning for him to come, to get away from that monster now!
The Hero of Winds didn't have to be told twice. He knew danger when he saw it. Living on the Great Sea meant he wasn't going to set any speed records on his own two feet. Which was unfortunate, considering he needed their speed right now.
Wild did the best he could to hurry him along when Wind met up with him but the older boy could only do so much without tripping the younger up.
The explosion rammed into both of them, red hot and seething. Wind smacked his jaw on the ground when he landed and warm copper filled his mouth.
Shakily pushing himself to his knees, Wind cast his gaze around for Wild. He found him a few feet away in a similar position. Their eyes locked and they seemed to agree on a course of action, then. There was no discussion.
They picked themselves up and booked it, not even sparing the raging Lynel a glance. When they reached the edge of the cliff, they jumped. Wild whipped out his paraglider, and Wind pulled out his trusty Deku Leaf. He could feel the magic seeping from him but he didn't care. He just wanted to get away.
When they hit the ground, they hit it running and they maintained their speed into the stable. Naturally, they were immediately bombarded by questions by seven startled heroes.
"What happened?"
"What's going on?"
"What did you idiots do?"
"Why are your clothes singed?"
"Is that blood?"
"Are you okay?"
"Should we be worried?"
Wind was still trying to catch his breath, as was Wild so all he did was hold up the Sheikah Slate. Unfortunately, that only raised more questions.
"Why do you have Wild's slate?"
"Did you get what you needed for dinner? I'm hungry."
Wild whisked the slate out of Wind's hands, signing a sharp "no". At least, that's what Wind guessed it was. He couldn't really tell. Wild did it too fast. But if so, no to what? No to showing everyone else the pictographs they just risked life and limb for?
Apparently so, because Wild was pulling ingredients out of the slate and strolling over to the cooking fire. "I'm going to make dinner now."
"Wait!" Twilight called, jogging after him. "What the heck happened? Why'd you two come tearing in here like maniacs?"
Half of them turned to Wild; half turned to him.
Wind shrank under their gaze, but Wild didn't seem to feel it. "A monster jumped us."
"And you ran away?" Legend asked, sounding both incredulous and disappointed in them at once.
Wild shrugged. "It was a mini boss monster. I'm too tired to deal with that. So yeah, we ran away."
Wind just nodded in agreement, running his tongue over throbbing his bottom lip. He'd definitely bitten it. Hard.
"You didn't lure it here, did you?" Four asked, hand straying to his sword.
"Do you see a huge monster?" Legend shot back before Wind or Wild could respond.
"No, but-"
"Then they didn't."
The smell of food swept away all questions soon enough, and though everyone was concerned for a little while, they became less concerned when they saw their injuries were minimal. A cut lip for Wind and a couple scratches for Wild. Considering the enemy they'd faced, that was impressive. 'Rule insisted on giving them each a bit of potion with dinner anyway and neither argued. Or, more accurately, Wind didn't argue, and Twilight didn't let Wild argue.
It was as they were all settling in for the night that Wind finally got to see the pictographs from earlier.
The first few were test shots and not that great, though still pretty in their own right. The lighting made the grass look gold. That's all he had time to notice as Wild swiped his finger repeatedly over the slate to reach the real beauties.
And they were beauties.
Not only because of the lighting but because of their expressions. Wind was practically grimacing —which wasn't what he'd been going for at all!— and Wild…Wild was riding the Lynel like a pro, his face the epitome of determination. Wind's was blocking the Lynel's head so they couldn't see the monster's expression, though Wind guessed it was furious.
Swipe right and there was the most glorious picture he'd ever seen. The Lynel was reared up on its hind legs, revealing its well-muscled torso and, predictably, furious face. On its back was a much less composed Wild. In fact, he looked like a mad man. A glorious mad-man framed by the light of the setting sun.
Then there was Wind's crazy-eyed expression in the foreground…
"Your face!" Wild cackled. "How do you make that face?!" Wild tried to imitate it and failed spectacularly which only made Wind giggle more. Which made Wild laugh more. Which made Wind laugh even more and before long the two of them were practically crying from the hilarity of it all.
Their laughter attracted Twilight. Of course, it did. He was sharing the bed with them, after all. (Turns out Serenne Stable wasn't equipped to shelter so many people at once. Some of them did end up on the floor. Though those that were determined enough to get a bed, did manage it with a bit of squeezing. Wind and Four were lucky because they were small and therefore guaranteed a spot on a bed.)
"What's so funny?" Twilight wanted to know.
Wind couldn't reply. He didn't have breath to.
Wild, however, managed to gasp a word out amongst all the giggles. "Nothing!"
"You can't laugh about nothing," Twilight said. He seemed to notice the slate Wild had titled down towards his chest. "What do you have on there?"
Twilight made a grab for it but Wild twisted away, nearly pushing Wind off the bed. Wind didn't care. Everything was funny with that pictograph fresh in his mind. That included almost landing on the floor.
"Wild, give it!" Twilight hissed, struggling to be quiet so he wouldn't disturb anyone else. They were all trying to sleep, after all. At least, that's what they were supposed to be doing.
"No!"
Twilight managed to grab part of the Sheikah Slate anyway and a small tug of war ensued. A decisive jab to Wild's ribs saw to it that the Hero of Twilight was victorious.
"Goddesses! You didn't."
"We did!" Wind exclaimed triumphantly, pulling himself fully back onto the bed with a grin.
"Don't be proud of it!" Twilight's obvious disapproval and fierce expression wiped all the mirth from Wind's face. He knew that tone. That was the you're-in-big-trouble tone. "What were you two thinking?"
Wild was unfazed, a goofy smile still dominating his face. "It would make a cool picture?"
"No way! I'm telling Time!"
"Tattle tale," Wild accused, making a swipe for his slate. Twilight held it out of his reach.
"Don't tell Time!" Wind didn't know why, but Time scared him. Or maybe scared wasn't the right word. Intimidated. Yeah, that was more like it.
"Don't tell Time what?" Time asked, striding over with his arms crossed.
"Look! Look what these idiots did!" Twilight shoved the evidence of their outing in the man's face.
Time stared at it for a long time, face impassive, before saying, "I don't know whether to be mad or proud."
"Wha-!?" Twilight sputtered. "MAD! You're supposed to be mad! How could you possibly be proud of them endangering themselves for no reason?"
"Well…it's kind of a cool pictograph." That put the grin right back on Wind's face. Who knew Time was a man of culture too?
Twilight threw up his hands. "I can't believe this!"
A pillow struck the side of Twilight's head.
"Shut up!" Legend shouted from the floor.
"Yeah, some of us need our beauty sleep," Warrior added.
"It's not my fault! Wild-!"
A sharp shh! shook the entire stable, cutting Twilight's retort short. It seemed that the other travelers didn't take kindly to their nightly chit-chat either.
Twilight chucked the pillow back at Legend with a quiet growl before turning back to Time. This time, his voice was hushed, though no less fierce. "You're seriously okay with them endangering themselves like that?"
The eldest hero considered this. "No. However, they did come back relatively unscathed and with quite the pictograph to show for it."
"But-!"
"Pup," Time put a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Let it go. It's over and done with."
Passing the slate back to Wild, Time leveled them both with his one-eyed gaze. "No more unsupervised adventures, got it?"
"Got it," Wild agreed.
Wind saluted out of force of habit.
Satisfied, Time bid them goodnight, and the three of them returned it—quietly of course— before settling down under the covers.
As he laid down to go to sleep, Wind shared a secretive smile with Wild. No words needed to be said. They were both thinking the same thing.
One last pictograph.
It wasn't difficult to take. The sleeping arrangements meant they were already crammed together. Wind's head was practically resting on Wild's shoulder as they grinned up at the slate, their hands curled in that special hand position Wild had shown him earlier.
Snap!