Hello lovelies! It is I, WingedIceWolf, back from the land of the dead! :P
Okay, not really, I recovered from the flu, but this quarantine is driving me nuts. There are roads closed off, all the toilet paper is taken, no one is allowed to go outside, we have to work from home, so all my family is trapped in one house for an extended period of time. My younger siblings can be quite the handful...
Speaking of siblings, my younger sister, TheAmethystAlpha01 is writing fanfiction now! So please do me all a favor and go check out her fanfiction account!
With that being said, I hope you are all enjoying what you can of this madness, and that my fanfiction can provide you all some consolation in these insane times. If you are infected with the coronavirus, I pray you can get over it quickly and be on the road to recovery soon enough. For all you crazy peeps out there, stop hogging all the toilet paper! We kinda need it!
Big thanks to TinyGiggleBox127074 for helping out while I was out of commission. I love you, sis!
Without further ado, let's hop into the chapter. I do hope to be updating more frequently since I am doing schoolwork from home, but I make no guarantees. Again, I apologize for the inconveniences and long waits. However, I do need your opinions as my readers. I wish to add in a few OCs, but I fear I will lose readers through doing so. I have my own character who I ship with Twi, and I plan on dragging in an OC from Wild's era as well. So please, tell me your opinions, as I'd really need them.
-WingedIceWolf
Ps. I hope you enjoy the lullaby that took me quite literally an hour or two to write. I considered using an actual song, but thought better of it... So, enjoy my horrendous poetry!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE LEGEND OF ZELDA OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.
DISCLAIMER 2: THIS IS NOT A LINK X LINK FANFICTION!
Colin studied the Hero of Twilight and his companion with worry evident in his eyes, subconsciously brushing his bangs from his face and tucking them behind his rounded-ears. Had he said something to trigger Wild's anxiety? He always felt the blame fell upon him, as if everyone expected him to cause some sort of perturbation, regardless if it was his intent or not. Talo and Malo would growl and throw stones should he near them, wave him off and tell him to "Run home to your father". Even Beth seemed to be growing tired of him, shaking her head and sighing if he were to get between what the kids deemed "fun".
"Was it something I said…?" the Ordonian boy whispered more to himself than toward the two Hylians as he entered the bathroom, taking a firm hold of the tap in the bath and allowing the cool water to rush between his fingers. He cupped the water in his hands, splashing it upon his face, shutting his eyes and letting the droplets run off his eyelashes.
He rinsed off his hands and dried them on a cloth, keeping his head low and nervously shifting his feet. His gaze dropped to the floorboards, tracing over the grain pattern within them as if they'd bring him any consolation.
"No," Twi answered firmly, his eyes never leaving Wild. The young man's eyelids slowly fell shut over his wild-blue orbs full of fear, his entire body quivering. Twi wrapped his warm hands around the young man's, encouraging him to take slow, gentle sips of the Spring water.
"You're alright," he spoke slowly and confidently, hoping to provide some means of comfort to his guest. He tenderly smoothed back the amber-blonde hair on the young man's head with one hand, the other firmly clasped over Wild's. "Breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth…"
Poor thing… Twi thought sadly to himself as he watched the young man slowly draw in a breath, dragging it out in an exhale. If only I knew what battles were being fought in that mind of his…
Colin let out a gentle sigh, rubbing the back of his head as he nervously stepped toward the Hero and the young man. There was something about the two he could not piece together, as if some part of the puzzle was missing. Maybe it had to do with the fact Twi could calm down this young man he barely knew, trembling like he'd seen a ghost, in an instant. Albeit, the Hero of Twilight always had the ability to settle the unease of anyone he pleased, speaking in such a soft tone, capable of lulling you to sleep.
"Will he be alright?" Colin inquired hesitantly.
Twi nodded, taking the baby blue blanket off the floor and throwing it over his guest, then turned back to Colin. "I'll finish making the pie, if you wouldn't mind sitting down beside him." As he slowly rose to his feet, Wild's hand shot up and caught his arm, nearly yanking the Hero of Twilight back.
Guess not. The Hero mused a little glumly, slowly returning to kneel at the young man's side. "Do you want me to stay here?" Wild nodded slightly, his hand falling from the Hero of Twilight's arm, a look of shame coming over him, refusing to meet Twi's eyes. "That's perfectly alright..."
Twi made a small jerk of his head to the pillow sitting next to Colin. Immediately, the Ordonian boy snatched up the feather pillow and handed it off to the Hero of Twilight, who quickly cradled the young man's head and slipped the pillow beneath. Wild let out a heavy sigh, snuggling up under the blanket, though he continued to shake.
"Lin- I mean, Twi?" Colin corrected. The Hero of Twilight's, soft, amethyst-blue tinted eyes fell upon the blonde haired boy, giving him a gentle nod to know he was listening. "Why don't you sing him the lullaby you always sang to us when we were little…?"
The Hero of Twilight smiled softly, taking the glass of water from the young man and setting it on the table before intertwining his fingers with Wilds. "I don't see why not. You're never too old for a lullaby." And with that, he cleared his throat, closing his eyes and humming the lullaby he had sang so many times over to the children of Ordon. A sweet melody vibrated in his throat before he broke into song.
"Close your eyes and let go your fears,
Let my voice guide you as the night nears,
Sleep, little one, and dream of tomorrow,
Empty your heart of all burdened sorrow.
Though your soul may be lost and weary,
And your eyes glistening and teary,
I will hold your hand and guide you away,
Into the promise of another day.
Today is won, the tiring battle is ours,
Lay down your head, beneath the stars,
You are ever blessed, and though your journey is long,
Never shall you forget, your heart beating strong.
The rain may drench you, and the thunder may roar,
Whispers may follow you from door to door,
But trust in yourself, let the wind sigh,
Allow none to shame you for hanging your head to cry.
The Gods have their eyes upon you, little one,
They know your strife, know of the battles you've lost and won,
Regardless of your pain, your love knows no bounds,
With wisdom in your heart, all lost is now found…
Close your eyes and let go your fears,
Let my voice guide you as the night nears,
Sleep, little one, and dream of tomorrow,
Empty your heart of all burdened sorrow..."
When the Hero of Twilight opened his eyes, sure enough, both Wild and Colin were fast asleep, their chests rising and falling in the steady, gentle rhythm that sleep had bestowed upon them. Wild's eyes darted back and forth beneath his eyelids, his ears occasionally giving the faintest twitch, a look of contentment upon his once fear-stricken face. In his current state, resting as peacefully as an infant, Twi could hardly believe he had been wide awake merely moments earlier, in a hysteria with his heart thundering against his rib cage and body quaking.
Twi smiled gently, carefully sliding his fingers free from the young man's hold, allowing his hand to comfortably rest upon his stomach, then slowly pulling the blue ceramic ring from the hair of his guest. He suddenly paused, holding it up to the light, squinting.
The ring shone gently, nearly the same hue as the runes Midna had upon her body, as he turned it this way and that. He could have sworn he saw it flash... Twi shook his head gently, the glow from the ring seeming to fade away by the time he cleared his head. He placed the ring on the nightstand and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.
I should probably finish up that pie, deliver it and take Colin home, then get to bed… Twi sighed, looking up at the fireplace, the flames having started to die down. The logs popped every now and then, but the embers enveloped the room in an orange glow. I guess the rest is up to me.
Twi very slowly and cautiously rose, trying his best to avoid waking the two, stepping lightly. He held his breath, hoping the floorboards wouldn't suddenly squeal beneath his weight and wake the two. He wasn't that heavy, granted, but this house had a few years and counting upon its foundations.
Thankfully, spending his days in the form of a wolf had taught him a thing or two when it came to stealth. He would take wide strides, using his lengthy legs to provide leverage as he flawlessly ambled upon his toes. Such was the grace common among all lupines, though it hadn't come as naturally as he wished.
When he had his first shift within the Twilight, adjusting to his new body was not simple, and he couldn't have been happier when he was returned to his human form after that agonizing transformation. He could stand on his own two feet, feet he was comfortable with and knew quite well, and run his fingers through his dirty blonde hair. No need to attempt to scratch himself with his foreleg or gnaw at his paw to rid of an itch.
The Hero of Twilight believed, had the transformation been gradual and not so… sudden, the adjustment would have been much easier; much less of a shock to his body. After all, having all your bones rearranged, muscles contracting, nerves resetting, all at once, would be enough to put anyone under shock. Or, in his case, sweet unconsciousness…
After awaking from his first transformation, he would, more often than not, stumble around in his beast form, tripping over his own four feet and finding himself with his snout in the mud. When attempting to break into a sprint, he would only topple over, head first, rolling down the grassy hills and staining his cream-colored stomach a slight green.
But he never gave up. All that mattered was that there were lives at stake and childhood friends to save from peril.
At that time, he was not aware that the Realm of Twilight itself depended upon one ranch-hand turned beast, but sure enough, everything fell into place and he learned he had a much larger role than anticipated. With persistence and determination, and possibly some intimidation coming from Midna, he adjusted to his new form quickly, each transformation becoming less and less painful.
Twi much preferred avoiding contact whenever possible by using the shadows and tall grasses to his advantage, even if he happened upon someone he knew well. The fear would be all the same, that he was sure of; he had heard the residents of Ordon speak with spite in their voice over a gray furred wolf, believing it had something to do with the disappearance of the children.
Even if he had told them the truth, would they listen? No one would accept him for the beast he was, would they? In his mind, they would only do one of two things: flee or attack. For reasons such as those, and for fear of his own life, it was recommended to elude already-panicked subjects than to tangle himself in potentially risky conflict.
Yet, there was always the fear in the back of his mind that one day… They would learn the truth. One day, he'd be cast from Ordon, into the harsh, unforgiving wilderness that was Hyrule. One day, he would no longer have a place to call home, a shelter from the rain… And he was particularly terrified of thunderstorms.
Twi stepped up to the ingredients for the pie filling, not yet within the pot, picking up where Wild had left off. He placed the sliced apples within the mixing bowl and drizzled lemon juice over the top of them, setting them aside for the time being. He now needed to prepare the syrup in which to cook the apples.
He took the dry ingredients, including cornstarch, the sugars, and cinnamon, and whisked it together with a fork to rid of any clumps. He knew well what clumps in your sugar could do to a recipe… Once the mixture was clump-free and well blended, he dumped it into the large pot, along with the cloves. The Hero of Twilight then slowly poured three cups of warm water within the pot, stirring the concoction together with a large wooden spoon.
The embers were at just the right temperature for simmering the apples, so there was no need for restocking wood, currently. When the pie needed to be baked, he would restock the wood, get the fire roaring again.
Soon enough, with the passing of time, the warm aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves filled the air. He took a deep, drawn out breath of the scent, then sighed in contention. If he weren't considerate of child-bearing mothers, he would have definitely prepared the pie for himself and wolfed it down. But… That was for another day. There would be plenty of pie to feast upon come the Harvest Festival.
The Harvest Festival… Twi thought to himself as he stirred the syrup slowly, though his mind was in another place that had no concerns for the syrup. The festival was nearing and he couldn't keep Wild cooped up inside all day for it. Surely that would drive the young man mad. Someway or the other, he had to introduce him to the others in Ordon without causing a ruckus.
That would be a feat on its own… Ilia already had a bad first-impression of the young man, which he was certain would cause distrust should Ilia spread word to the others. What was he to do to show the young man was innocent? That he truly was a sweet young man, just as scared and lost as Twi had been?
The Hero of Twilight shook his head. He'd figure something out; he had enough time on his hands. Perhaps if Wild apologized to Ilia, that would help settle the score. But would the young man be willing to apologize? And would Ilia drop the grudge she held against him?
Women… Twi sighed inwardly. Notorious for holding grudges…
When the syrup started bubbling, that's when he added the lemon coated apples, stirring them in the syrup gradually. He took up a stick of goat butter off the shelf that he had churned himself, the butter sitting within a silver dish, taking only a tablespoon worth of it and adding it to the syrup, stirring slowly and evenly until the butter dissolved and the apples started to turn a golden brown.
Sometimes, bugs would find their way into the butter whilst he was churning it, or sometimes gnats would drown in the honey they would harvest from the bee hives. The saying goes "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." And that saying definitely rang true. It was a reoccurring part of living on the countryside, and Twi had become accustomed to finding small bugs in his food. Mosquitoes and gnats hardly bothered him as much as… spiders…
Good Hylia did he hate those eight legged insects with their tiny, beady eyes…
He removed the apple filling from the heat using a pot holder, setting it upon a stone counter beside the fireplace so the still-very-much-hot bottom of the pot would not char the floor as it cooled. Even if there was cobblestone around the fireplace, he wasn't going to set a hot pot on the ground where he could very clumsily kick it over and burn himself. He was notorious for his capability of tripping over air itself…
The Hero of Twilight scooped the syrup and apples within the pot into a glass mixing bowl, as to prevent the filling from burning within the pot. With the filling now cooling, he prepared the bottom of the pie crust, rolling it out at least an inch thick on a clean table, then laying it within a steel pie pan, pinching the edges into a curved shape. This pie pan would then go on a rack within the fireplace to properly cook.
Using a knife and a maple cutting board, he carefully cut equal strips of the remaining dough, and, once the filling had cooled to a reasonable temperature, he added the apples in their syrup to the dough. He expertly weaved the dough together as he laid the strips atop the apples. It was something he had done so many countless times, he needn't think about what he was doing anymore. It came naturally.
He sprinkled a bit of cinnamon sugar over the top of the pie after brushing some egg yolk over the top of the pie, taking a handle on the pie pan and carrying it to the stone fireplace. He placed it upon the wire rack, then pulled a log from a stack beside the fireplace, setting it within the embers. The log smoked slightly as the embers singed its bark, Twi again holding his hair back with his hand before blowing upon the small flames, breathing them back to life. The flames roared and the log popped, engulfed soon enough in the fire.
Now, all he had to do was wait and deliver the pie fresh to Uli.
His eyes wandered to the pot upon the shelf, next to a bowl of fruit, in which the Shadow Crystal remained. Now would be a good time to relocate it, seeing as both Colin and Wild were unconscious. Silently, he slid the pot off the shelf and very very cautiously reached within, barely grasping the string tied around the Crystal, lifting it up and out of the pot.
Its amber swirls blared at his very existence, pulsing like it had life of its own in response to his every breath. When he inhaled, it grew brighter, then dimmed when he exhaled. It was almost… entrancing. Without thought, he found his right hand reaching toward it, slower and slower, but when he realized what he was doing, he immediately retracted and shook his head. He was in control. Not the beast begging to be freed within him.
He had to resist the urge to use it here… Too much could go wrong if Wild or Colin woke. Too much was at stake when it came to using that Crystal, now that Wild was fully capable of consciousness. His eyes shot up to the top platform, next to his window, where he often slept. It would be far too conspicuous to set it up there in a pot when the remaining platform was empty, with the exception of a couple of blankets and a pillow.
Where else could I hide this…?
It would be far too risky to leave it out in the wilderness, where some sort of creature could stumble upon it and use it to their advantage. Who knew just what limits the twilight had when it came to matters of the creatures of the dark? With that same thought in mind, the Light Spirits could not take it. The Twilight had choked out their light before; it was only natural they would be wary to take up such an object.
The only one capable of holding it without the devastating effects was the Twili Princess herself, more beautiful than the last rays of the setting sun, who had shattered his frail heart as she shattered the mirror. She was gone… She had destroyed the only thing allowing their worlds to cross, save the hour of twilight.
"It will be best this way," She had said. He had only nodded in agreement, even if his mind was screaming for her to stay. He forced himself to swallow back his tears and put a smile on his face, though his act fell the day she truly left his world. And when she was truly gone, his entire world fell dark.
Why couldn't they have lived in peace...?
Twi clutched the Crystal a little closer, but not close enough that it could come in contact with his skin, thus altering his form. This crystal was nearly the only thing he had left of Midna. It was a testament to their battle together. A battle they won.
He wasn't going to let this Crystal fall into the wrong hands. After all, it proved useful when it came to calming his guest down. It couldn't be that bad, could it? It could be used as a weapon and a tool! He had to keep it somewhere close by in case of emergencies.
The Crystal could always be returned to its place in the basement. No one entered the basement, and why would they? There wasn't much down there and in order to see in the dark pit that was his basement, a lantern was required. It would be safe to keep it there, where many boxes and crates were neatly stacked, but his guest might become curious and snoop around, stumbling upon it. He nearly had discovered the Crystal once… That same mistake couldn't be afforded again.
His eyes wandered to the first platform, where there were a few potted plants, a lantern hanging from a peg, a few paintings upon the wall, a banner, and a bookshelf. He could keep the gem there, within one of the potted plants, perhaps. It would be much more hidden, much less conspicuous, easy to access should he need it. And who would go searching through the contents of a potted plant?
But then again, if he buried the Crystal beneath the plant, it could affect the plant itself with what dark magic the Crystal possessed. Sure, it was out of the way and not really a concern, but a glowing plant would most definitely draw attention.
I can't just keep it in my pocket…
Where else could he hide it where it wouldn't cause suspicion? Twi sighed heavily, gripping tightly onto the fluffy locks of his hair with one hand. He needed to focus… This thing couldn't be left out in the open, couldn't be shoved in the basement, couldn't be hidden within a potted plant. What other options were there?
Then it came to him.
When he wanted to hide his journal from the others, he often kept it within a box beneath the floorboards, hidden by a carpet that draped over the loose boards. He could keep it there! With a lid atop it and being covered by both the boards and a rug, who would find it there unless they tore the rug open?
He strode back to area in which a ladder lead down to the basement, a purple rug with floral designs decorating the thick fabric. Twi bent down and lifted the rug up, sure enough finding a loose floorboard, though it would be unnoticeable to the untrained eye. With much caution, he pried the old board from the floor and set it silently upon the rug, next to the Shadow Crystal. He needed both hands for this task.
A few inches below the floorboards was an otherwise empty, dark, rectangular hole, large enough to fit a small, wooden box within. He hesitated, as the fear of spiders bit at him, but he reached within and lifted the box from the hole, setting it in his lap. It had been months since he'd written in his journal, even laid eyes upon this small box. The box had the letter "L" carved into the top of it, along with a carving of a fish.
At one period and time, during his adventure, this box had served as his tackle box, placing lures and bobbers within it, hooks as well, to use for fishing. But now, it had been re-purposed for a hide-away. He opened the hinge keeping the box closed, being met with a dusty, leather bound journal. Its pages were worn, untouched for months, the string purposed for tying the journal shut was twisted, its glass beads too caked with dust.
Twi brushed his hand along the top, gently blowing the dust from its cover. A feeling of nostalgia washed over him, recalling the nights where he would lay in his abode, a sharpened stick that had been been seared in the dying embers of a fire acting as his writing tool, using a lantern as a form of light as he scrawled letters and drawings along his journal. Often, Midna would hide in his shadow, though other times she had fallen asleep sprawled out on his back. Not that he minded that, she needed her rest just as badly as he, and she was rather comfortable.
Even the cold surface of her helmet was welcoming, hearing her gentle breaths as she rested her head between his shoulder blades, sometimes mumbling his name. He would then turn a knob on the lantern, extinguishing the flames by cutting off the oxygen supply, and lay his head upon a small pillow, draping a blanket over the two of them before the night took them into a peaceful sleep.
But before he would sleep, he would always whisper, "Goodnight, my princess…"
And sometimes she would reply ever so softly, "Goodnight, wolfy..."
And there we have it lovelies, the end of this chapter. I do hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following!
-WingedIceWolf