Please read the A/N at the end. Thank you!

Chapter 10: Those I Left Behind, Part One

They were both silent in the morning fog; specters, that's all they could be described as, flitting in and out of the clouds that hugged the ground. Their legs carried them quietly through the brush of the forest, allowing the unlikely pair to sneak up on their prey. It was Link, the Hero of the Wilds, who broke the silence first, quietly hushing his four-legged companion behind him. The Hero of Twilight, stuck in his lupine form, understood the command easily.

Peering through a bush, they spotted their query grazing on the grass in the early morning light. The deer enjoyed its meal too eagerly, hardly giving notice to its shadowy stalkers. A perfect hunt.

Link brought his bow taut to his chin, aiming the arrow at the unsuspecting creature that would be his and his ancestor's breakfast. Yet as he pointed his weapon at the buck, he paused, seeing his shot still marred by leaves from the foliage. Internally, he cursed, knowing his movements would have to be quieter and more precise if he were to move any closer to the deer.

Keeping an eye on his prey, Link did just that. Searching stealthily for any minute movements that might give him away, eyeing the deer with a bestial urge of hunger, and paying too much attention to his hunt that he stepped on a single, crackling branch.

In the eerie early morning atmosphere, the quiet breaking of the twig may as well have been a clap of thunder. Link and the Hero of Twilight cringed, slowly turning their gazes back to the buck, who was eyeing them intently. At a stalemate, neither parties dared budge, but were ready to jump into action at the slightest of movements. It was the hunter who moved first, deciding to fire his weapon as quickly as he could. Aim was compromised and so was power, but a chance at hampering the buck would have been better than simply letting it run away.

Such an outcome didn't occur, as the deer quickly bolted out of range of the arrow. Thus, the chase began.

The lupine Hero of Twilight sprinted out of the clearing, sparing Link an annoyed glance before barking and chasing after their breakfast. For his part, the Hero of the Wilds only allowed himself a disappointed sigh before following his ancestor. There would be hell for that later, Link knew.

After running through the brush, and receiving a few shallow scratches for his efforts, Link came to a clearing ending at a cliff. He saw his ancestor had cornered the deer, but he could only keep it backed up against the sheer drop and was unable to strike the creature without letting it get away. The Hero of the Wilds readied an arrow, knowing his bow would make the difference

Before Link could aim, the Hero of Twilight snapped too aggressively at the deer, causing it to jump back too far and fall off of the cliff. They heard the poor animal's distressed cries as it rolled down the drop towards the beach below. The pair walked up to cliff, staring down at the now mangled corpse of their hunt.

A gentle sea breeze blew through Link's hair, subconsciously causing him to tuck a few strands behind his ears. "Expertly done," the hero commented bluntly.

His ancestor barked happily in response.

"But you're getting all the pieces with small bones in it."

The Hero of Twilight growled.

Link waved him off, chuckling. "It's your punishment."

The wolf nodded at Link's arrow, causing the young hero to scowl. "Alright, fine. We both messed up. Enough arguing. Come on, before some wayward Bulblins take our breakfast."

Sheathing his bow and with a flourish from his Sheikah Slate, the Hero of the Wilds produced a glider that had proven more than useful on his journey. Readying the item, he turned to his ancestor who silently acknowledged he was prepared. Without waiting any longer, Link ran off the side of the cliff, glider lifting him off the ground and keeping him afloat. Behind him came the Hero of Twilight, who jumped on to his descendant and clambered on to his human vehicle's legs with great effort. Once as secure as the wolf could be holding onto a Hylian's limbs, the duo drifted lazily down towards the beach.

Touching ground, they ran to their deceased query. Happily, they found nothing – animal nor monster – had defiled their breakfast. The two relatives comically licked their lips as their stomachs growled. Putting away his glider, Link then unsheathed the hunting knife at his waist, beginning the arduous process of skinning the buck.

As he did so, he swore he could hear the echoing laughter of a child. It seemed that the Hero of Twilight heard the sound too, as they both turned around to search for the source of the noise. Thinking it was just the wind, the Hero of the Wilds shrugged off his suspicions and continued his work.

Yet the laughter echoed in their ears again.

This time, knife at the ready, Link and the lupine Hero of Twilight turned wholly to where the sound was coming from behind them. Even though they heard it as clearly as the waves crashing down on the beach, there was still no hint as to where the laughing emanated from.

"Who's there?" Link questioned threateningly, trying to bring the mysterious figure out of hiding.

A wild gust of wind blew past the pair. It was almost visible, with the leaves and sprays of water it carried. Link watched the unusually strong sea breeze fly by, hearing the unmistakable cadence of an unknown song upon the winds. The Hero of the Wilds closed his eyes in order to better hear the unbidden tune. It was soft, almost silent, but it sounded like a temple choir chanting three simple notes over and over again in perfect unison. As if they were conducted by a master musician.

Link heard his ancestor growling behind him.

The Hero of the Wilds' eyes shot open, and he whirled around, bow ready to fire at whatever was behind him. Yet he stalled, as he saw something he was hoping he wouldn't see again for some time.

There, a silhouette in a familiar green tunic and hat faced the sea, a white baton in his hand. The apparition commanded the winds with finesse, turning them to and fro to conduct the choir-like song that could be faintly heard by the pair of heroes. With a flourish, he ceased commanding the winds and tucked his instrument into his belt. Turning around, Link recognized the facial features as those a descendent of the Hero's Soul: blue eyes, blond hair, and an angular face all pointed to him being another of the Hero of the Wilds' ancestors. The unknown hero grinned cheekily, his smirk marring the rugged stubble on his jawline.

"Haven't played the winds like that in years. Felt good to bring out the Wind Waker again," commented the mysterious apparition before them. "Hey, Twilight. We were wondering where you wandered off to."

The lupine-hero barked.

Link could only watch the two during their exchange, letting out a sigh and shaking his head, knowing what was to come.

"And you must be the Hero of the Wilds," Link's ancestor pointed out matter-of-factly.

"I am."

"Nice to finally meet you in person. None of us knew what you were like, considering the Hero of Time disappeared completely from the Hero's Soul, and Twilight here just wants to stretch his mangy paws." The wolf responded with an agitated bark. "You know it's true. Anyway, I'm the Hero of Winds, Link."

"Of course," the Hero of the Wilds responded mirthlessly.

The Hero of Winds chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "So, you know why I'm here and you're already a bit annoyed, eh?"

"That about sums it up."

"Well, then no time like the present!" The ghostly hero spoke with unending happiness in his voice, and in the few minutes that Link had known him, he suspected that his ancestor almost always smiled.

The Hero of Winds turned back to the sea. "The winds are really whipping up the sea today, aren't they? Reminds me of my adventures." He took a step into the ocean, stopping when he was knee-high in the salty water. "Always loved the ocean. She always loved the ocean. Hell, we all did. The Great Sea was a part of our lives in so many ways, from traveling to food." Before continuing, the apparition turned his head to Link. "Come on, it isn't that cold."

With little trepidation and wanting to end this seemingly-random halt to his quest, Link did just that. All the while, the Hero of Twilight watched from the shoreline, tail wagging happily as the Hero of the Wilds shivered and cringed upon wadding into the shallow depths to the Hero of Winds.

"You should join us," Link directed at the wolf, receiving a shaking of his head in response. "Spoiled mutt."

"He really is, isn't he?"

Link nodded before asking, "What is it you want me to see?"

"Not see but learn. Come on, you should have figured this out by now. We all have something that keeps us tethered here to you. Some more than others." The Hero of Winds tilted his head towards the Hero of Twilight. "But me, well, I've always had one thing that's kept me here. Close your eyes and you'll see it."

Without waiting any longer, Link did just that. As soon as he did, he heard the telltale signs of a memory that didn't belong to him: laughter, two separate voices, the echoes of a time long gone. It was all there. Just as he had before, Link allowed himself to be enveloped in the memory, willing it to transport him to an unknown place.

A cold splash of salty water was the first thing he felt. In the warm summer sun, it felt cool on his skin, but the shock of being woken up in such a manner caused the liquid to be unbearably freezing.

The young boy in blue woke with a start. "Huh!? Who… wha-?"

His head turned every which was as his body accommodated to the forced wake-up call. It wasn't long before he noticed, right in front of him, standing on the beach, his sister, Aryll, suspiciously holding a bucket and smiling impishly.

"You need to wake up, big brother! It's already past noon!" Aryll chided with a giggle.

Instead of standing, like his little sister had planned, the young boy, Link, fell back into the warmth of the sand beneath him, basking in it. Almost immediately, he started snoring again as the sun lulled him to sleep. He lazily mumbled, "Just five more minutes, Aryll. Promise. Then we'll go help… grandma…" A loud snore punctuated his mumbled attempt at talking.

Hoping he would be left alone, his little sister had other plans. Link heard the crunching of sand beneath feet before they halted right next to him. Daring to peek up at Aryll, the young boy opened one eye. Once he saw what she had in her hands, his eyes shot open in panic. In her hands was another bucket of what Link could only assume was water.

"Don't you dare," the young boy warned.

"Too late!" Aryll responded gleefully.

Then, she dumped the bucket's cool contents on top of her big brother. For a few moments, all Aryll could hear was a panicked, gurgled scream as Link tried to protect himself from the small waterfall. Once it had ended, he jumped up to his feet, seeing that his entire body was now drenched. However, that wouldn't be the case for long, as the sun would quickly dry him off in a matter of minutes.

Still, the damage was done, there was no way he would be returning to his daily nap.

"Aryll!"

The little girl in question giggled before dropping the bucket in the sand and running away. Shaking himself off, Link chased after her. He would get his payback, he swore to the goddesses.

The siblings ran all throughout Outset Island, earning chuckles from the adults watching their game of tag. Other village children joined in at certain point, chasing after Aryll with Link or halting the brother as he was within feet of his sister. To the people of Outset, the brother and sister were just pursuing their usual shenanigans and welcomed it happily as they enjoyed their childhood.

Eventually, Aryll made her way to the watchtower that stretched out from Outset Island only a few yards into the Great Sea. As fast as she could, the young girl scurried up the ladder. When Link came to the foot of the tower he saw Aryll giggling and sticking her tongue out at her older brother. Biting the playful taunt, the boy in blue followed his sister up the scaling ladder, knowingly smirking all the way. After all, she had cornered herself.

There was no way Aryll would escape Link now.

Pulling himself up to the platform that made the watchtower, Link exclaimed, "I gotcha now!"

But what he saw in front of him dashed away his victorious smirk and made his words seem hollow. Perched all around Aryll, now staring at Link, were at least a dozen seagulls. For whatever reason, the sea-faring birds seemed to like the young blonde girl – enough so to protect her from annoying brothers, at least.

One of the gulls squawked.

"Yeah, that's him," Aryll confirmed amusedly. "I hear he has bait on him."

The use of the word 'bait' caused all of the birds to face the young girl. Now, she had their undivided attention. Pointing at Link to indicate who had the food, Aryll ordered, "Go get it."

Seeing Aryll pointing at her older brother got the point across. The seagulls immediately started flocking to Link, ready for a mid-day meal. The older brother could only scream as the birds pecked at his clothes, searching for the bait that he supposedly had on him.

"Ow, ow… OW! Aryll! Come on! Get these flying rats off of me!" the young boy begged through the squawking and feathers.

His little sister thought on his pleading for a moment, contemplating his words with her finger tapping her chin. "Hm… I don't know, big brother. You were chasing me after all."

"Yeah, I know! Only because you- OW! Not there, you rats!"

Aryll couldn't help but giggle. She dug around in her dress pockets for a moment before bringing out what she was searching for. In her hand were round pieces of food that were liked by almost all animals in the Great Sea: bait.

"You gotta promise you won't chase me anymore, big brother," Aryll stated, laying down the terms of their agreement.

"Fine, fine!" Link agreed within seconds.

"Annnnnd you have to come help grandma, okay?"

"Yeah, okay! Just get these things off of me!"

One more time the young girl giggled, before throwing the bait over her shoulders towards the sea water below. Hearing, rather than seeing, the splash of water, the gulls turned their attention towards the ocean. Noticing bits of floating bait, they quickly sped past Aryll to eat their fill before any denizens living under the Great Sea decided to take the pieces of food for themselves.

After her feathered friends flew away from the watchtower, Aryll turned to her big brother who was lying on the platform near the ladder. She walked over to him, noticing that Link was already annoyed, thanks to his half-lidded eyes that indicated such. His chest rose up and down rapidly as he took in quick breaths to refill his lungs after screaming in fear.

"I hate those things," the young boy admitted to no one in particular. "So, so much."

Finding the entire incident too funny, Aryll busted out laughing at the situation and her brother's sprawled state. Link stood from his prone position. Watching his sister, he couldn't help but start laughing, too. For minutes the siblings guffawed at the incident, tried to recompose themselves, failed, then repeated the cycle again. It was the kind of laughter that would never cease.

But, as all things do, it hesitantly came to an end. Once finished, Link helped his younger sister to her feet. They drifted to the edge of the watchtower, gazing out towards the Great Sea, searching upon the horizon for nothing in particular. At peace, they talked about everything on Outset, enjoying the time they had together.

"I really do love the ocean, big brother," Aryll commented out of nowhere.

Link made a sound of agreement, sharing his love of the sea with his family. "Someday, I want to sail the entire Great Sea. There has to be so much out there we haven't seen. I want to see it all."

His little sister smiled in agreement, taking her telescope out and zooming in on a faraway island. It was too far away to make out the details, but her mind wandered, imagining what could possibly be on such a distant land that was only just above water.

"I want to explore it all, too," said the young girl. "Once we have a ship, we can go wherever we want."

Her older brother chuckled, before turning towards Aryll and holding his fist out to her, pinky extended. "Then pinky promise: when one of us has a ship, we'll both go on an adventure together. We'll be the Traveling Exploring Duo."

Aryll smiled widely, happily wrapping her pinky around her brother's. "That sounds so cool! Nothing will stop us! Just train with Mister Orca more, okay?"

"Deal. Have to defeat any pirates we meet along the way, you know? We can't leave them to harm the innocent."

"Do you really think we'll meet pirates?" Aryll asked excitedly as the siblings turned away from each and continued watching the horizon.

Link laughed. "Who knows? On our great adventure, anything can happen."

The lapping ocean waves splayed the Hero of the Wilds, drenching him completely. Link opened his eyes, a grimace on his face. He heard laughing from his side, as well as happy barking from behind him.

"Guess you aren't really that much of sea guy, are you?" the Hero of Winds insinuated.

"I prefer mountains," Link replied, trudging out of the water. "Higher up, can scale them anywhere around Hyrule."

"Never was much for climbing. Only did when I saw some vines or rope. Otherwise, my arms were better suited to swimming. Though I'd like to see Hyrule from the highest mountain. It'd be another adventure."

Silence followed as the heroes retreated to the beach to sit in the sand and watch the sun rise further into the sky. It was peaceful, easing the trio. They all took a simultaneous, deep breath, enjoying what seemed like their first break in ages; which, for the Hero of Winds and Hero of Twilight, it may have been just that. But peace can only last for so long.

"You never went on that adventure with your sister, did you?" Link asked his ancestor as he kept staring out towards the sea.

Even though the Hero of the Wilds was right, the Hero of Winds couldn't help but smile humorlessly. "Never. After I saved the Great Sea from Ganondorf, my Zelda – Tetra – and I left. You could say the spirit of Aryll's dream was what drove us."

"Did something happen to her?"

The Hero of the Winds sighed, his smile erased. "A lot happened to her. She was kidnapped by Ganondorf. After I saved her, I made sure she would never come to harm again. So, I left her on Outset Island, with pirates, no less."

"Pirates?"

"That's what our dear princess was back then." The apparition smirked. "Ironic, yeah? I still find it funny, but it was all to hide away from Ganondorf and protect the Triforce of Wisdom."

"Makes sense." Link paused. "But even saving the Great Sea, your sister, and, I'm assuming, Zelda, you still felt like the world was too dangerous for Aryll."

"I did. I guess I was being an overprotective brother. Never could get over the fact that she was kidnapped right in front of me." The Hero of Winds clenched his fists, his hair hiding his face from view. "Have you ever had family taken from you, just like that?" He snapped his fingers. "It's traumatizing. After that, even if it hurts those you care about, you do everything you can to protect them. Even if you have to leave them behind, abandon them. They deserve happiness, and sometimes, only your absence can give them that. Or that's what I believed."

"What you 'believed'?"

"Yes, believed. There was a lot that happened after I left Aryll on Outset Island," the Hero of Winds continued. "Sometimes what you think and what is real are one-in-the-same. But most times, your beliefs never really line up with reality, and you're left paying the consequences. Always remember that. In some cases, allowing people to heal without you, or you healing without them, is the best way to move forward. That being said, you must be absolutely sure that's the case. If it isn't, then they'll never forgive you. In my case, I never forgave myself for what happened."

"And what exactly happened?"

The Hero of Winds chuckled. "That eager to see it now, are you? What happened to the annoyance from earlier?"

Link shrugged. "I know I'm a hero, and I'll help those I don't know. But learning about a person's situation and why they need help, it gives me a better idea of what I can do and who they are. If what they're asking for is in my ability to fix, then I focus on that and knowing how I've helped the world, if only a little. Makes it all the more worthwhile, I think."

"As a good a reason as any," the Hero of Winds approved.

The Hero of the Wilds stood from his position and placed his hand over his heart. "Before we keep going, I need to know your exact reason for being kept here."

His distant ancestor followed suit. "That's fair. Well, if you must know, what's keeping me here is abandonment. Not someone abandoning me, but my abandoning those I loved."

"It wasn't just Aryll then?"

The Hero of Winds shook his head as he walked along the beach, sand surprisingly shifting around his feet. "No. It's a running trend. Come on, I'll show you what else I left behind to pursue what I thought was right."

There you go guys. Just what y'all voted for, a fic about Aryll and Link. Now, to all of you out there, this is going to be about family relationships. In other words, the interactions between the siblings as brother and sister, and as nothing – I REPEAT – nothing else! Not even going to say what people would mistake this for… but guess ideas like that come with the territory of being a fic writer, huh?

Anyway, brother-sister relationship between Aryll and Link, and issues of abandonment. First chapter went great. I always like doing the chapters before the games so I can set up some ideas and values I think that the Heroes would have. They don't talk much, so drumming up a persona I can go off of for the different Links is pretty fun. But, as always, we must continue past the story, the main game, and tackle the issues that the Hero of Winds is facing. I think it will make for a pretty good story.

Just to let y'all know, I'll be, as of now, doing three chapters – including this one – on Aryll and Wind Waker Link. After that, I'll go off of the survey again. Speaking of, if there's a particular Link you'd like to see in the next section, go vote on the poll on my profile! Or y'all can send me a PM or review, I ain't picky.

Otherwise, hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter. Now, say it with me…

Reviews are appreciatively reviewed, favorites are honorably favored, and follows are as follows: enjoyable to see the notification.

Peace,

nickdaman6