One shot written in the Linked Universe AU on Tumblr by Jojo56830. Originally only posted on AO3, I've decided I'd like to have all the stories I've written on one site together. Anything I write for the Linked Universe AU will be posted on AO3 first, but I will eventually have it on here as well. This is a little more angsty than what I usually write, but I really like it, so I hope you will too.
Warning: There are mentions of starvation and death in this story.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Legend of Zelda series and this amazing AU is by Jojo56830 on Tumblr.
Sky wonders, in a rare moment of anger and envy, if the other heroes know what it's like to be truly hungry. The kind of hunger that tears at your insides, makes acid and bile rise in your throat. The kind that weighs your limbs down with iron chains and fills you with an ache that wears at your soul. Sky's felt that hunger several times in his life, the memories always coiled in the back of his mind like venomous snakes waiting to strike.
The first time he'd been very young, maybe six or seven years old, and a strange fungus had killed the majority of his people's crops. Most fields had to be dug up, the plants in them removed and trashed. The lumpy pumpkin was closed because the fungi had spread to so many of the vegetables. Owlan had tried in vain to find a way to save the plants, but in the end the only solution they found was to get rid of them and plant the fields again. This left the people of Skyloft with very little food for weeks.
At first everyone was optimistic. The crops will grow back soon and we have plenty of food in the storehouse, they said. But they were wrong. It took months for the new plants to finish growing and by then Skyloft had nearly run out of rations. Neighbors screamed at each other in the streets. Fights broke out as people were accused of taking more than they were supposed to. The village had agreed to no more than one meal a day to make what little they had last. Sky remembers his meager portions of food, remembers his parents pushing him to eat their share so he would have a little more. He remembers guilt clawing at him from the inside as he did. He remembers wondering what felt worse, the aching shame as he watched his parents go without just for him, or the hunger that threatened to pull him under every day that season.
The second time he felt his body falling apart from the emptiness of hunger, his parents had just died. A sickness had spread through his people like wildfire. It had taken Zelda's mother, Pipit's dad, and both of Sky's parents. He himself had caught it. He remembers lying on his bed for days, an old cloak of his father's covering him like a thin blanket. The illness burning through him left him weak with fever and dehydration. He'd been so tired, too tired to even feed himself. He remembers curling up, muscles screaming and stomach knotting, so sure he'd be leaving to join his family in the Sacred Realm.
Luv had been the one to save him. She'd busted into his home and scooped him into her arms. He has some spotty memories of the trek back to her house. The chilly air that rose goosebumps on his heated skin, the quiet concerned songs of loftwings from up above. Mostly, Sky remembers the thick, itchy quilt she wrapped him in and the warm, sweet taste of the pumpkin broth she'd fed him. Careful spoonfuls of that and one of her potions is what Luv used to nurse him back to health. He remembers her soothing whispers, so unlike her normal rough way of speaking, as she smoothed his sweaty hair.
Sky thinks the third time he felt that hunger gnawing at his insides was the worst. It'd been during his journey as hero, on his first trip through the Lanayru Desert. An Electro Spume had grazed him with one of it's projectiles and in the few agonizing moments that the electricity had snaked it's way through his body, Sky's bottom half had been trapped by sinksand. He remembers panicking in his haze of pain as he crawled his way back onto the sandy bank. When he finally put a safe distance between himself and the monster, Fi had told him to check that his belongings were still secure. Thankfully, his weapons and canteen were still in his magic bag. The food he'd brought with him though...
Fi told him to go back for more supplies. She warned him about the harshness of deserts and the importance of being prepared, but Sky refused. He knew he should've gone back. Fi knew a lot more about the Surface than he did, so if she said he needed to restock she was probably right. But... he didn't want to be late again.
Sky remembers the miserable days that followed. He remembers the sun beating down on him and burning the skin on his face. He remembers the sand, the damned sand, that found its way into every wrinkle in his clothes, every hole in his tunic and bag. It coated his skin, got tangled in his dirty hair, sliced his throat raw with every rough swallow. And he remembers the hunger.
He conserved his water as much as possible, Fi told him to do so. But the lukewarm liquid did nothing to stave off the emptiness twisting in his gut. He remembers gagging at the acid eating his stomach, remembers the fatigue weighing him down like bags of stones tied to his limbs. Every step was difficult, almost painful. His head had ached. And after several days trapped in a stuffy mine, slogging through sand, with little water and no food Sky's mind had been trapped in a despondent, dark cloud of resignation.
Sky remembers thinking he was going to die. He was going to fail Zelda, and his friends, and Fi, and the Goddess. And it would be because he'd been too stubborn to listen to his companion. Sky doesn't think he'd ever been more low than in that moment.
He lets out a sigh. He hadn't died though. Instead, he'd dug deep into his soul and gathered the little strength and courage he had left to keep on. It had been hard, almost impossible, but Sky was nothing if not determined. And he'd have rather been damned by every deity on the Surface or in the heavens above before he let Zelda down.
"Sky?" A quiet voice asks.
Sky jumps a little at his nickname. He looks away from the spot in the trees he'd apparently been staring at to see Wild seated by the cookpot, wooden ladle in hand.
"W-what?"
"Are you okay? You've barely touched your dinner."
Sky looks down at the nearly full bowl of soup still resting carefully in his lap.
"Um..."
"Do you not like it?" Wild asks. He frowns slightly as he stirs the food remaining in the pot. "I'd be happy to make you something else instead."
"O-oh! No! You don't need to. It's really good. My mind was just wandering, is all. " Sky smiles at his friend as he raises a large spoonful of the thick broth to his lips. Wild gives him an understanding smile back. Sky knows that, out of all his friends, Wild gets what it's like to be lost in memories.
When Wild turns back to the dinner still bubbling on the fire, Sky takes a moment to look around their campsite. The others are all lounging around, eyes hooded with calm contentment and nearly empty bowls in their laps. He watches Legend nettle Warriors, the Captain's expression a funny mix between trying to ignore the younger boy and wanting to throttle him. Sky swallows several large spoonfuls of soup and then licks his lips, the spicy flavors burning his mouth.
He knows his mind has been wandering lately and he knows he's been in a foul mood for days. He's surprised at what set his mind on the downward spiral tonight, though.
Sky had been talking to Wind, the two of them swapping stories about their homes. It seemed Outset Island was even smaller than Skyloft. Sky was in the middle of telling the younger boy about the people in his village.
"There aren't very many of us," he told his friend, "but everyone tries their best to share with everyone else. It's kind of like one giant family."
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. You live in a paradise." Legend had scoffed at them. Wind had spun around to squawk at the other boy for being rude.
Sky had kept quiet, feeling that stirring of anger build in his stomach. A paradise? He loved Skyloft, but it was certainly no paradise. There was hardly any space for houses or fields to grow crops. Diseases spread through their people faster than the water flooded Faron Woods. The island would always be his home, but he knew there was a lot his people had to go without.
Sometimes he wonders about all the things his people had to leave behind when they first left the Surface.
Sky sighs. He knows he should be ignoring Legend's comments like he always does. He knows that Legend never means any harm, that he's just a brash person. But Sky's sour mood has been with him for days and now the littlest of things seem to hit home with him. Truthfully though, he's happy they've had good lives on the Surface, in Hyrule. He's happy they have space, better medicine, food. That's all Sky and Zelda have ever wanted for their people. He shouldn't begrudge them for living in better times. His friends having what he did not means his journey was worth it.
"Sky." Wild's voice calls.
Sky blinks at his friend. Wild waits, the concerned look back in his eyes.
"S-sorry. Did you say something?" Sky asks him.
"I asked if you wanted seconds. If you don't get it now Hyrule and Warriors will eat it all."
"Ha!" Warriors laughs. "More like you will, Wild. Everyone knows you've got like three stomachs!"
Wild rolls his eyes as the other heroes laugh. He holds out his hand for Sky's bowl. Sky smiles at him, but shakes his head no.
"I'm actually getting pretty full. Why don't you give my extra serving to Four or someone."
"Yeah then maybe Four will actually grow some!" Legend teases. He and Warriors nearly collapse on each other as they laugh at their own jokes. Four grabs the pillow from Hyrule's bed things, which as always are set near the fire, and smacks Legend in the face with it.
"Ouch!" Legend yelps. Warriors does fall over laughing this time.
Sky chuckles at his friend's antics and finishes the last few bites of soup in his bowl.
"Since I'm finished, I'll go find a good place to keep guard. I'll even take first watch tonight," he offers. The others who are paying attention to him agree and send thank you's his way as he grabs his sword and turns to walk out of the camp.
Sky doesn't miss the troubled looks Time and Wild give him as he leaves.
When he returns a few hours later, he finds Time still sitting by the campfire, blue ocarina in hand. He is rolling it carefully back and forth in his palms. Sky notices a contemplative frown on his face. The younger boy sits down on the opposite side of the fire, quietly so he doesn't wake any of the others. It seems everyone but Time and him decided to call it a night.
"Are you next for watch? I thought I was supposed to wake up Twilight?" Sky whispers. Time shakes his head no.
"I switched with him so I could be awake when you got back." Time gives him a knowing look. "I thought you might need to talk."
Sky fidgets in his seat. He probably should have been expecting this.
"No, I don't think I do. I mean, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine." Time doesn't look like he believes him.
It was mostly true though. He was fine. That constant anger brewing in his gut seemed to be gone for the moment. He still felt a little guilty for being mad at his friends over something they couldn't help, that they didn't even know about, but he'd just do something nice to make up for it. Maybe he'd carve something for Legend? He seemed to like musical instruments, if his collection back home was any indication. Maybe Sky could carve him a new flute? It'd be challenging, but Sky knows he'd love to see the smile on his friend's face when he gives him the gift. Even if it was just one of the tiny smiles that Legend only seemed capable of doing.
"Are you sure there isn't anything on your mind? You seem to be losing yourself in your thoughts an awful lot lately." Time presses.
Sky looks at the older man over the flames. He supposes he has been letting his mind wander quite a bit the last couple nights, tonight especially. He'd thought about it while standing guard. Anytime he drifted away with his thoughts, he always landed on home. Whether it was his friends, the house he was building on the surface, good times like the days he spent at the knight academy, or the bad times he'd been lost in this evening Sky was always thinking of home.
He's only been gone a few months, but he misses it terribly. It doesn't help that the other's Hyrules are so different than the Surface he is used to. Hyrule in the future is a home teeming with life, even Wild's that is covered in ruins. The land Sky knows is vast, at least compared to Skyloft, but lonely. Yes there are the mogmas in Eldin, the Kikwis in Faron, and the strange ancient robots in Lanayru, but there isn't much else. Sky has met a handful of Gorons on his adventure and the Parella tribe in lake Floria, but the others have whole cities and domains spread across their lands. When he looks at their worlds, he feels like a bird without wings. Like he is stuck on the ground, trapped in the twisting vines and vegetation of a beautifully terrifying place when he is meant to be soaring high above in the clouds. It makes him miss his time so much.
Sky sometimes feels like he can't explain this to his friends, not because they wouldn't listen, but because they don't understand how different his home really is from theirs. Except Wind, of course. Sky heard the younger boy refer to himself in awe as "a real fish out of water" the first time they camped in a forest.
Time clearing his throat is what brings Sky back to the present again. The older man has put his ocarina away and now sits with his back straight, hands placed firmly on his knees. He's giving Sky a look that brooks no argument. Sky knows this means he won't be able to just wave Time's concerns away.
"I... I've been kind of... homesick lately," he finally says. Time's shoulders relax. A look of understanding passes over his face and he smiles in a sympathetic way.
"I know how tough it is to be away from home for so long," he whispers. Sky nods.
"I've been trying not to let it get to me, but it's hard. I miss my friends, and my Loftwing. I miss Skyloft. I wish I could show it to all of you, but I feel like we'll never end up in my time."
"We might still. We're no closer to finding the shadow than before. There's plenty of time for us to see your Hyrule. I mean, the Surface, that's what your people call it right?"
Sky nods his head again. His eyes slide from Time's face to the crackling campfire between them. It's close heat is causing a warm sting across his cheeks. Sky thinks about sliding a little ways away from the flames, but decides he's too tired to move.
"I feel a little ridiculous letting homesickness get to me. We've only been on this journey together for a couple months, which is no where near as long as my first adventure. That one took nearly an entire year and I never missed home as much as I do now."
"But couldn't you return to Skyloft whenever you needed to?" Time asks.
"Yea..."
"So perhaps you didn't miss it as much because you never got the chance to miss it," Time explains. The older man leans back onto his palms and looks skyward. Sky watches as his one good eye takes in the stars peeking through the leaves of the tall trees surrounding them. "On my first journey, I was constantly on the move. I never had the time to think about my friends back in the forest because I was too busy fighting monsters or rescuing sages. Sometimes it would be days before their faces even crossed my mind. But this journey is different for me, too. Every day I think about Malon. I wonder how she's doing, if she has enough help on the farm. I miss her smile, her laugh, her stubbornness. I miss her cooking, though Wild's food comes pretty close to having her's beat."
Sky laughs at this, a little too loudly. He covers his mouth with his hand and peers at the sleeping forms of their friends. Legend gives a snore and starts to roll over onto Warrior's bed. The older boy half sits up, eyes practically still shut they're so heavy with sleep, and pushes Legend back onto his own bedroll. Time and Sky watch, amused, as Warriors flops back onto his side. They hear his own quiet snores drift across the camp a moment later.
"I guess I know what you mean," Sky finally whispers once he's sure no one else is stirring. Time looks at him, the expression on his face clearly showing he wants Sky to elaborate.
"During my first journey I was always rushing. I think I barely ever stopped to eat or drink or treat my wounds." Not after the fiasco in the Earth Temple, he thinks, not after he was late. "I was always darting in and out of Skyloft for supplies or for information on where I needed to head to next so, yea, I guess I never took the time to miss it when I wasn't there."
"But now that you have the time, it's hard to be away from everyone," Time says. Sky nods.
"I really do hope we'll be in my time soon," Sky mumbles. He pulls the sailcloth from his shoulders, twining the soft fabric around his fingers. "It's a lot different from your Hyrules, but I still think you'll really like it."
Time stands up, grabbing his sword and strapping it to his back. As he walks away to finally take his place for guard, he claps his hand on Sky's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Hyrule is home where ever we go. It doesn't matter if it's recovering from a war, under a vast sea, or just one tiny village. No matter what shape it takes, we will all always cherish the land we've sworn to protect. And I feel confident when I say that everyone here is going to love seeing your home. And if the people in Skyloft or on the Surface are even half as kind as you are, Sky, well I know we'll love them too."
Time takes his leaves, giving the younger boy's shoulder one final squeeze. Sky finally pushes himself away from the fire and moves over to where his friends set his bed things. As he prepares to finally get some rest he thinks about what Time has said.
He thinks the old man is right. Sure the other's lands are bigger, and they have more people, but there are still things about them that remind Sky of home. From the beautiful forests full of trees thicker than giant's thighs, to the crystal clear waters that carve their way around the hills and run into deep shimmering pools of blue, all the way to flaming volcanoes where lava still churns within, the heroes' homes carry traces of his people. Sky can feel it in the air every time he gets to take in a new Hyrule.
And he knows sometimes he forgets that. Sometimes it's hard not to when his home and his people's history have faded into legend. But Sky also knows that the world his home will eventually turn into is all Zelda and he ever wanted.
He thinks that, the next time homesickness or jealousy start to take their toll on him, he'll just have to remember Time's advice.
Hyrule is his home no matter where he goes.