The screams gradually wove their way into his dreams, and Link woke up to the loud, panicked sound echoing throughout the entire canyon. He sat up slowly, not fully recognizing the sound for what it was, and then it hit him—

A hand pressed against his head, pressing him back down into the bedding and he looked up to see Sheik sitting beside him, blade naked and resting in his lap.

"Somebody's—"

"Go back to sleep, Link."

And the spirits were buzzing quietly in his ears, excited and…Link didn't know what. Like they'd been in the forest, the first time he'd met Sheik.

"But there's—"

"Would you tell the dead not to defend themselves?"

Link stopped, confused. Sheik held his gaze for a moment longer and then sighed, removing his hand.

Link moved over to his side carefully, uncertain, but Sheik moved his sword and let Link crawl into his lap.

"…Sometimes people think it's a good idea to break into the tombs and steal from the dead. Things they were buried with, or things left behind. The castle especially, because so much of it was lost beneath the rubble during the war."

"But the dead don't remember. Their lives. Right?" Link asked slowly. It was hard to think. It was night and it was really dark out, but Sheik looked wide-awake. So Link did his best to wake up too.

"Most don't. But sometimes they still feel attachments to things. And…really, Link. Would you like someone breaking into your home, crawling through your things? Your bed? Your body?"

Sheik's tone made Link shiver. He craned his head back, looking up at him.

Sheik wasn't looking at him. His eyes were ice-cold, hard as metal, and locked on the entrance to the well.

He'd never seen Sheik get really angry before, but this was…almost there, Link thought.

"Why do they do it?"

Sheik blinked, gaze focusing on Link. Some of the scariness in his expression faded, but not all of it.

"Does it matter?"

"Don't they know they're hurting the spirits?"

"Better question would be, do they care?"

That shocked Link. He blinked, stared at Sheik with wide, confused eyes. And the screaming was still going, just…weaker than it had been before. Sheik sighed, shifted, and his crimson orbs gentled again.

"Go to bed, Link. The Captain is taking care of it."

"He can't fit under the well!" Link protested, and a humorless smile touched Sheik's lips.

"They wanted to take care of it themselves."

Link was quiet for a moment.

"…Do you do it?" He asked hesitantly. Sheik nodded.

"I protect them, don't I?"

The noise died, faded for a moment, and Sheik returned his cold, scary gaze to the well.

Link didn't like that look. Sheik wasn't scary, or cold, and he didn't need to look so worried about the spirits or the dead because if they were being hurt then they would take care of it, even if Link didn't understand why they were being hurt. So he scrambled to his feet and ignored the soft sound of warning from Sheik because he was standing unsteadily too close to the blade and he threw his arms around Sheik's neck, hugging him.

Sheik flinched, startled.

"Don't be scared. Even if the Captain can't fit down there, the Duke can!"

Sheik chuckled, pressed a hand to Link's back. And though he didn't relax as much as Link wanted him to, he did calm down.

"Go back to sleep, Link."

"Will they be okay?"

"…I'll check in the morning."

"Can I come with you?"

"Of course not. And—Link. I want you to listen very carefully to me, alright?"

"Yes."

"If you ever hear screaming coming from there again, you are to come find me or the Duke. Understand?" The spirits stopped buzzing for a moment, as if Sheik had said something to them too, and then sullenly hummed in agreement.

"Yeah."

"Even if you're down there already." And Sheik sounded so serious, almost terrifyingly calm, and Link shivered even as he nodded.

And then Sheik really relaxed, and ruffled his hair before tucking him back in.

Right before he fell asleep, though, he saw Sheik resume his position, leaning against the doorframe to their room, legs stretched out in front of him, sword's hilt resting above his head and point resting between his feet, and realized what Sheik was doing.

He was keeping watch, like Saria used to do when the other Kokiri were nearby.

"Sheik?"

He sighed again.

"You're supposed to be asleep, Link."

"Thank you."

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What? You thought this could be a cute fluffy story without violence or torture? You shouldn't read my stuff if you want that lol.

Okay I'm mostly spamming this story bc it's quick and easy and fun to write and I'm trying to get used to a new keyboard; DO NOT GET USED TO THIS lol.

One quick thing to clarify: Link refers to the Poes and other intangible souls as 'spirits'. The actual physical dead like Dead Hands and Gibdos and Redeads are 'the dead'. Sheik just calls all of them the dead or by their proper name. But Link's magical Sheikah-understanding powers let him know what Sheik means lol. (the spirits just tell him, it's not actually magic).