It's 1:36 in the morning, I can't sleep, so... Here's a chapter to you all. Credit for Link's (Will later be known as Twi) backstory goes to my best friend Avy Mac who roleplayed him for years. So make sure to shoot her a PM saying thank you for the inspiration and help in this chapter! As always, thank you for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. You all are very supportive and friendly. Your reviews make me smile and encourage me to keep this story going!

-WingedIceWolf

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE LEGEND OF ZELDA OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

DISCLAIMER 2: This is not a Link x Link fanfiction, so don't think it is!

~Thank you to HylianHarmony for being one of my muses and helping me with this story!~

Wild's eyes widened when Link signed back, most likely not expecting him to know sign language. His ears twitched slightly, blue looped earrings dangling as his gaze fell back to his feet, hands dropping into his lap where he locked his fingers together. His shoulders slumped, hair shadowing his eyes and head bowed.

He almost seems ashamed to be signing… Link noted. I wonder if he's been yelled at for signing instead of speaking. With how he's acting, I'm sure he's scared he'll be struck or forced to speak at the expense of his life with a knife pressed to his throat…

Yet again, there was silence between them that both were scared to break. Nothing but the chirping of the crickets outside and the soft hiss of the fire within the lantern was exchanged between the two. Link sat beside him, but made sure to give him plenty of room as to not make him uncomfortable. However, Wild only seemed to grow more uneasy, shifting slightly.

"You're probably scared, aren't you?" Link sighed, but received no response. Wild's ears twitched however, his arms wrapping tight around himself. "It's only natural... You're a stranger in a strange land. I'm guessing none of where we are looks familiar to you. But I'll help you get familiar with the area to the best of my ability."

Wild nodded slightly in what Link hoped was thanks, nothing more, nothing less. As much as Link wanted to declare his reasons for his generosity, to explain what Faron had told him, it wasn't best to overwhelm someone who had just awoken from a coma-like state. He sighed inwardly before rising from his position and coming to stand before the young man.

Link placed a hand to Wild's shoulder, feeling him tense beneath his palm, but Wild reluctantly raised his head to look at the Hero who had saved his life. Link smiled warmly down at him, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze as if to say, "You'll get through this." before releasing.

"You want some food, right? If you feel like talking after eating, then we can talk. Well… sign is more like it. I won't force you to tell me anything. After all, a man's secrets are his to keep, right?" Wild nodded slowly, expression blank, and Link yet again offered a smile in which his dimple upon his left cheek was prominent. "Then let's get you some hot soup. Maybe a blanket or so too! How's that sound?"

The young man leisurely tapped his ear, then brought his fingers to his lips again, slightly cupping his hand and bringing it down into his other cupped hand, all in one fluid, swift movement, though his gaze remained glued to the floor.

Sounds good...

"Alrighty!" Link chimed as he walked back to the kitchen, taking the lantern with him and setting it down on the table there, the marigold light casting prolonged, dark shadows across the room. After washing his hands, he stole a glance at his guest who seemed to curl even more into a ball within the darkness. He returned his regard back to a stack of bowls upon the shelf.

Maybe he is afraid of the dark? Link pondered while reaching up and grabbing a bowl, being careful not to knock the stack over in the process, then opening the drawer below the shelf to retrieve two spoons. The utensils clinked against one another as the drawer was thrown ajar, the Hero retrieving the spoons from the mess of forks and butter knives, all with varying sizes and materials.

With the second spoon, he would pour the soup into the bowl, receive a spoonful of the soup for himself, and prove it was not poisoned, as he had claimed. On a side note, he'd rather not swap saliva with his guest… That would be gross.

The bowl Link had removed from the shelf was a particular bowl he himself had carved from an oak stump when he was at least fifteen. He had seen Rusl bring home wooden carvings from Castle Town, all beautifully sculpted and smooth, so he attempted it himself using an ax, a chisel he had found near Jaggle's house, a knife, and the waters of the Ordon spring. It had taken him days to carve, occasionally nipping his fingers here and there, but the end result couldn't have made him happier. Though it had a few imperfections, it was smooth and round, light weighted, and smelled of oak.

"You seem surprised that I know sign language. My childhood friend Ilia and I learned it when we were younger. Kind of as a way to communicate with each other secretly," Link started up a conversation as he walked back with his favorite wooden bowl and two spoons clutched in his left hand, lantern in his right. He set them down upon the table gently, then uncorked the first glass bottle Sera had given him, setting the cork down as well, hoping it wouldn't, in some way, roll off the table and disappear under the couch.

That'd happened before… And it was a pain to retrieve it. Even after retrieving the cork, it was dusty and covered in cobwebs, making Link uncomfortable with using it again, despite it being washed off. He neglected to tell Rusl that the cork had rolled under the couch before returning the bottle to him…

Link rubbed the back of his neck a little as he laughed nervously. That wasn't very smart of me…

Another thing Link always despised was spiders. Everything from their eight legs to eight eyes made him uncomfortable, nausea filling his stomach. Having to reach for the cork beneath the couch gave him terrible anxiety, fearing a spider would scuttle across his hand. As soon as his fingers grasped the cork, he darted away from the couch, violently shaking off his hand that was blanketed in cobwebs.

No matter how clean his house would be, a spider would always find its way in. He looked forward to Winter every year due to the spider sightings. Simply because there was none! He could stretch out and relax in his abode with a cup of hot cocoa from Castletown, curled up beside the fire, not having to worry about spiders crawling across his floors or onto his furniture, making webs wherever they pleased.

He admittedly enjoyed thinking about those eight legged demons outside, curling up in the snow and freezing to death ever so slowly…

There was a time he was walking around Ordon and stepped upon a spider there, it exploding into many smaller arachnids it had been carrying. He ran far from the spider with a scream of fright, back to his house where he slammed the door and did not come back out until noon.

Then there was the days Link faced Skulltulas. The first time he came eye to eye with one within the Forest Temple, he froze in place as it raised its chelicerae, fangs glistening with venom, to stab right into his heart. Its many green eyes focused upon him, fuzzy body moving inhumanly and long legs reaching out to grapple him.

His legs had felt heavy, breath coming short as he waited for those fangs to sink into his chest. Before he could meet his demise at the hands of a spider, a voice had screamed into his ear, "Move, idiot!" And that scream was just enough to snap him out of his trance. He drove his blade into the heart of the creature, it squealing in pain as it fell onto its back, writhing and curling up before its large body fell in a heap.

If Midna had not screamed in his ear, Link was sure all of Hyrule would be dead. But that wasn't his last near-death encounter with the spiders. While he was within the temple of time, overwhelmed by the many baby Gohmas, one had latched onto his ankle, fangs sinking right through his leather boot like a hot knife through butter, pumping venom into his blood.

He had screamed out in pain as more Gohmas swarmed around him. With what strength he had left, he took up the Master Sword and cut them down with a powerful spin attack, their guts splattering all over him.

Once he was able to flee from the area to safety, he took off his boot, being difficult to do so with his ankle being so swollen. Blood gushed from the injury, a slight purple around it. He bound the injury and carried on, despite the pain. He had more important things to worry about than an injury, limping through the pain.

Link completed the temple, but shortly after receiving the Mirror Shard and stepping out of the gates of the temple, he found that breathing had become even more of a challenge, his vision starting to blur as pain racked his body. Midna had popped out from his shadow, concern written on her face.

"Hey, are you alright?" She had asked. Link nodded gently, though the effects of the venom became more and more powerful. Dark rings had formed around his eyes and his face had turned pale.

"Y-yeah… T… Teleport me as… close t-to Hyrule Castle… As poss… ible… Without wearing… y-you out..." Link had answered, staggering slightly as his entire ankle tingled with numbness and a burning like fire. And so, Midna teleported him to Castle Town within his wolf form, transforming him back once they had landed.

Link had risen to his feet and staggered to Telma's bar, his entire leg soaked in his blood. Many eyes fell upon him as he leaned on the wall for support. He had fallen down the stone stairs leading to the bar with a loud shout of pain, barely able to continue on. But he did.

As soon as he stepped inside the bar, leaving trails of blood behind him, those within the Resistance, all with the exception of Shad, looked up at him, Telma as well. Link's knees had started to give way, Rusl rushing forward to catch him and bring him to a bed within the bar, hidden within a room Telma had specifically for her guest, lying him upon it.

Link asked where Shad was, wanting to get the last Mirror Shard, but he was silenced by Rusl who demanded to know what happened, removing Link's boots and pulling his pants leg up to examine the injury. Link threw his head back in pain and grit his teeth.

"A spider bite..." Rusl had muttered. The rest of the details were blurry for Link, but he could remember Rusl shouting for someone to get the doctor, Telma running out of the bar to fetch him. All he could remember was more shouting as it became harder and harder to breathe, hearing his own screams ringing within his ears.

When the doctor had entered, there was plenty of screaming from both him and those within the
Resistance. He was pretty sure Ashei had spat some sort of vulgar comment at the doctor as he examined Link's injury, deducing that he had been bitten by a type of ancient spider and he hadn't the cure.

Apparently, the doctor had refused to aid Link earlier due to him damaging the doctor's ego, but after much shouting and screaming from Rusl, the doctor gave in. When he declared he did not have the cure with a smug look, Rusl had pinned him up against the wall, having grabbed the small man with both hands and slamming his head back into the stone.

The doctor was dropped and ran off to gather what he could to make a medicine. The Resistance waited eagerly, Rusl pacing in worry, going to Link to give his hand a tight squeeze, telling him he would be alright.

Just as the doctor returned, according to Rusl himself, that is when Link had gone limp and still, Rusl screaming out his name. A needle was used by the doctor himself to inject the medicine into the Hero's bloodstream as Rusl prayed to the Gods themselves that the boy he had raised as his own would be saved. The seconds agonizingly dragged by as Rusl kept his head bowed in prayer.

Lo and behold, the young man's breath slowly returned, regulating as time went on. From that day forth, for what felt like eternity, Link was out of commission and forced to stay in bed. Those within the Resistance took turns keeping watch over him in case his situation should worsen in any way.

He cringed a little at the thought of dying to a spider. The Hero chosen by the Gods, felled by an eight legged arachnid… That definitely would be a heroic death.

That near-fatal experience made him grateful for not only Midna, but those within the Resistance as well. If not for them, all of Hyrule and the Twili realm would have perished because of the clumsiness of one boy.

The Hero shook off the thoughts of spiders, death, and failure, though it took a lot of effort, then held up the oak bowl so the shiny wood caught in the lantern light, a hint of pride in his eyes. "I made this bowl myself when I was younger. Pretty proud of it! Smells good too, even without anything in it! It's that nice, earthy, sweet, yet slightly spicy, smell of pine."

A small smile tugged at the young man's lips. Wild hesitated, but eventually made fists with both hands, bending his wrists forward ever so slightly so his fists dipped, then lowered them a few inches. He then pointed to himself, then brought two fingers to his eyes, bringing them downward in yet another arch shape before making a hook with his pointer finger.

Can I see...?

Link nodded and handed the bowl to the young man, him taking it with one hand, turning it this way and that, eyes lighting up with fascination as they danced over the grain patterns within the wood. He ran his hands along the outside of the bowl, feeling the even oak beneath his fingertips before testing its weight in his hand.

Link grinned, brushing back his dirty blonde bangs from his eyes. "If you like it that much, I can make you one. Free of charge!"

Wild's eyes met his, ears perking back before he shook his head gently. He set the bowl down with both hands, as if he was scared it would shatter if he placed it differently, then signed with his fists placed upon his chest, shaking his head. He then made the letter T and O with his hand.

You don't have to...

"I wouldn't mind. I get bored anyway here on my own. It can get lonely… It'd give me something to do..." Link confessed a little sadly.

Wild nodded gently, eyes locked onto the soup before signing, I see…

Link raised the bottle of soup at certain angle so gravity took its toll and the soup poured from the glass, though it traveled down the sides of the glass due to surface tension, dripping onto the table, as a liquid within a glass usually did.

"Stupid glass surface tension!" Link groaned, raising his hand that was now dripping with hot, pumpkin soup. "Why must liquid within glass always have to be a nuisance?! Now there's pumpkin soup all over the table I just recently cleaned and my hand! Good thing my hands are clean though… And the table… But still!"

Wild snorted, and, for the first time in days, laughed. It was a gentle, melodic, and smooth laugh. A laugh that seem to look defeat in the eyes and say, "I'm still going!", but also a laugh that showed his true, playful nature. And hearing that contagious laughter made Link burst into laughter himself.

Link hadn't had a good, long laugh in a while and it felt good to be able to laugh like that again. Since Midna had left, he really couldn't find it in himself to laugh as often as he would. If anyone was capable of making him smile, making him laugh and giggle, it was Midna. Sure, the beginning of their adventure was a rough one, but in the end, it was his heart that was truly shattered, not the Mirror.

After the two had their fair share of laughing, Link walked back to the kitchen, taking a rag that he wet with the water within his wash bin, and wiping the soup from the sides of the bottle and the table. "Glass… out of all materials, glass just has to be a nuisance..."

Wild nodded, still grinning, one hand coming up to his mouth to try to stifle another bark of laughter. His hands eventually fell from his face to reveal a smile, teeth slightly showing. He pointed to himself, then lifted one hand pointing at his chest while another pointed behind him. His fingers then cupped together, coming to rest on his chest, then extending his hand as if showing something, only to follow up with his hand raising just a little above his shoulder, closing his hand. After that, his hands came up with his wrists crossed, fingers posed as if to grab something, closing into fists, then motioning to himself.

I have been there before. Trust me.

Link laughed a little to himself and nodded. He scooped up a portion of the soup within his spoon and downed the liquid, Wild's eyes fixated upon him. After nothing happened, the young man reached out and snatched the bowl, ignoring the utensil set out for him and devouring the soup within seconds. Once the bowl was drained, he set it down and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, sighing in content.

"You weren't hungry at all, weren't you?" Link teased. The young man's gaze snapped back to Link, ears perked back, peeping down at the bowl, then back at Link. As if expecting some snappy remark, his eyes squeezed shut and he cringed. Link smiled a little and spoke lightly, "Hey, that's perfectly fine. Anyone who likes food is a friend of mine! Take all the food you want, I'm generous."

Wild's eyes cracked open, looking up at him with his head slightly cocked, seeming to study Link for any signs of jest. When he found none, his ears only perked back more, his finger coming to his lips as if he were silencing himself before bringing it forward and making a slight hook shape.

Truly…?

"Yep!" Link confirmed, smiling happily and bouncing on the heels of his feet. He realized he may be becoming overly friendly with his guest and bit his lower lip, sitting down on the couch and motioning to the other bottle. "If you want another bottle, be my guest!"

Wild glanced at the ceiling for a few seconds, uncomfortably, not wanting to meet eyes with Link, yet again signing "Thank you". Again, silence passed between the two, Wild coming to flick his wrists downwards, then bringing them back up with his palms facing upward, closing his right hand into an O, index finger on his other hand circling around his hand before pointing at Link, though his eyes never met his.

What about you…?

"Oh, don't worry about me. I've already eaten. Two bowls full of this stuff. If I eat any more, I'll probably get fat," Link answered him, patting his own stomach with a playful grin. "Can't have that, can we?"

Wild shook his head, but did not touch the other bottle of soup, though it was evident he wanted it. His eyes continually darted between the bottle and the ceiling.

Have I been making him feel guilty…? Link thought to himself with his ears perked back. Maybe I should lay off… Link hesitated, but finally spoke up, "If you don't mind me asking… How long has it been since you've had a meal…? Excluding when I fed you some bread while you were semi conscious… You looked a little thin when I stumbled upon you..."

Yet again, there was silence between them for a while. Link got up and sighed heavily, walking up to take the bowl when Wild cleared his throat, causing Link to turn to him. Wild's head hung a little, but his eyes finally met with Link's, fear in them followed by what he believed was remorse. His left hand came up, thumb, index finger, and middle finger all upright while his other fingers remained closed.

A normal person would have held up three fingers, but Link recognized this sign as "three".

Wild's arm came to rest upon his other one, first arm then rising at a ninety degree angle, pointing and slowly bringing his arm down to meet with his other arm. This sign represented the sun within the sky, Wild's arm lying flat representing the horizon.

Days.

Link's eyes widened, voice raising, becoming slightly bitter and sharp as his protective canine instincts kicked in. A dark growl sounded in his throat, nearly shouting, "Three days?! You were hurt like that for three days?! Who did that to you?!"

Wild flinched at the shouting, curled up tightly, as he bit his lower lip that had began to tremble. He looked away from Link, his other hand grabbing at the blanket that remained draped upon the couch and wrapping it tight around him, hiding his face within it. Link could see him trembling beneath the blanket, feeling guilt come over him.

"I…" Link began, but he simply couldn't find the right words. His ears laid low against his head, silently cursing himself.

Why did I have to react like that… I probably scared him! Now I'm going to lose any trust we had!

"I'm sorry… I… I just can't believe someone would be so heartless…" Link sighed, suddenly finding interest in his feet as he continued on. "I can't understand how someone could stab at you for days with no remorse whatsoever…"

Silence.

Link leaned his head back and sighed, deciding to throw caution to the wind and let his mouth run. "I... want to be able to help you… I would want you to know where you could flee to safety should you ever be in danger and know just who you could rely on..."

More silence, but Wild's feet shifted, coming to pull his knees up to his chest. Link took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves before continuing.

"There's a saying the man who raised me once said. 'Someone you have known your entire life could stab you in the back and leave you to die. Someone you have known for a few minutes could put themselves in the line of fire to save your life.' I want to be someone you can trust, but I know that trust isn't just freely given. You seem like a sweet, gentle, yet scared young man… I've actually been there myself…"

Wild's finger parted the blanket just an inch so he could see out of it, glancing at Link, though discreetly, tears glistening in his deep, wild-blue eyes. A single tear fell down his cheek, shimmering in the lantern light, despite him choking them back. A tear that spoke of the trauma he had experienced at the hands of whoever had harmed him.

It evidently pained him to recall those moments and frankly, Link didn't blame him for it. If he were in the same position as Wild, he would be hesitant to explain what happened as well. Considering how deep the injuries were, how wide and severe, by all means, he should have died. Yet he held on...

"It's a horrible feeling, not knowing who you can trust or who you can turn to for aid when everyone wants your head on a silver platter… The thing about trust is that it needs to be earned. So I'll do my best to earn your trust and show that I'd be willing to put myself in the line of fire for you, because I don't want you to suffer like I did. I'm just not the kind of person to allow someone to suffer, cast someone in need aside, nor let them die, whether they deserve it or not…"

Wild's head peeked out a little more, brushing some of his messy, amber-blonde locks from his face, sniffling. Yet again, Wild's eyes and Link's eyes met.

"I'll be patient with you… No matter how long it takes. I don't want you to feel like you're alone here, nor that you have to battle your own demons. When you're ready to tell me what's happened, I'll be ready to listen. And if you never tell me, I can accept that. All I ask is for a chance to prove I won't hurt you, belittle you, mock and laugh at you, or anything of the like. I only want to help you heal safely. When you're done healing fully, you can go ahead and leave… I won't stop you. Can I at least have the chance to prove that you're safe with me and I can help you? I won't ask anything more from you, I promise. A Hero's word..."

Wild's ears twitched at "Hero", the blanket loosening and falling from his head to his shoulders, eyes wide. After Link waited patiently for an answer from the young man, he only glanced back down at the ground, shoulders shaking, suppressing his tears. Link reached out, grabbing the bottle of soup, scooting over to Wild and holding it out to him.

"Can I have that chance…?"

Wild looked up at him, cheeks wet with tears, nodding gently. Link placed the bottle in his hands and sighed. "Thank you. Now, drink the rest of the soup. You need the sustenance more than I do. I'm sorry for startling you… more than once now…"

Wild nodded again, curling up a little more as he uncorked the bottle and raised it to his lips.

"Whatever happened to you must have been traumatizing… I'm sorry for making you relive those moments…" Link apologized. Wild finished his soup, setting the bottle down after corking it, rubbing his arms. "Is it too cold? I can start the fire."

Wild nodded ever so slightly before a sob escaped his lips, trembling more. He buried his head into his hands, shaking and continuing to sob with uneven breath, fingers taking fistfuls of the blanket. Link's hand stretched out to rest upon Wild's shoulder, reeling back a little, but he finally swallowed his uncertainty and allowed his hand to rest upon Wild's shoulder, feeling him yet again tense.

Link hummed gently as he rubbed Wild's back in circles, the tenseness in Wild's body fading slightly as he continued to sob. The Hero could hear fear within his sobs as he continued to hum and rub his tense, scarred shoulder blades. But for what exactly?

Fear of being in a strange place?

Fear of dying here?

Fear of the past?

Or… was it fear of failure?

Whatever the cause, Link was willing to sit it out, rubbing Wild's back gently as he continued to hum. The young man's head remained buried in his hands, Link coming up with an idea and deciding to go with it. He opened a drawer within the nightstand and pulled out a small, wooden box, opening the lid.

Within was a chess board, hand painted with wooden chess pieces beneath the board, one set being black, the other being painted white. He began placing the pieces in their appropriate places upon the board.

"Let me tell you a story…" Link began, placing a knight upon the board. "Once, there was a little boy who eagerly wanted to be a ranch hand, begging the man who had raised him for permission. To his utter dismay, he was firmly told 'No'. The boy was relatively small for his size and the man feared the goats would easily trample the boy, perhaps break a few ribs and kill him in the process…"

Wild's ears twitched, raising his head, watching Link set up the board, sobs becoming quieter.

"The boy ran off in his anger before the man could catch him, going deep into Faron woods and sobbing. Unbeknownst to the boy, a herd of hungry Bokoblins heard his cries. They stalked up to him and when he looked up to see he was surrounded by hungry, snarling Bokoblins, he cried even harder. He truly thought this was going to be the end. There was no way to escape and the Bokoblins were closing in."

Wild cocked his head, listening intently, starting to calm down, wiping his tears away with the back of his hand.

"Then, suddenly, a Golden Wolf sailed over the boy's head, leaping into the fray and snarling madly. The Bokoblins charged, but the wolf only snapped and tore them apart. It was rather bloody and an unforgiving sight. The blood of Bokoblins are acidic, meaning the wolf was covered in burns afterwards. He limped toward the stream beside the boy and shook his head in the water, attempting to wash the blood from his muzzle. The boy remained where he had curled up on the ground, once ready to accept his fate. The wolf staggered toward the boy and licked his head. The Wolf had one crimson eye, but his fur was incredibly soft and glowed in the moonlight. Do you know who that boy was?"

Wild pointed toward Link and Link nodded.

"That boy was me. And that very same wolf, I would see years later in my adventures. He is no demon, but… I strongly believe he is my ancestor. He could take up the form of a skeleton, having golden armor that had been overgrown with leaves. He told me, 'A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage'. That spirit was once a man… He told me he once lost his eye in battle. He taught me his swordsmanship, passing his ancient skills down to me. I once found his burial. Beneath a tree in Hyrule Castle… The grave read, 'This is where the cursed swordsman sleeps'. The spirit claimed to be the Hero's Shade, furthering my theory… But he died with regrets… And those regrets carried on through death..." Link sighed sadly, then looked up. "Now… would you like to play chess…?"

There you go! I'm heading to bed now so myeh...