Tiny ears wiggled and perked at the sound of rustling fabric. A pair of purple eyes flicked toward the source, and its owner listened quietly to the soft murmurs from the sleeping dragon. The tail of polished white and lined with honey-blond fur scooted closer to the Champion's body. Its plated spikes of alternating cerulean blue and lime green glinted like crystals under the campfire light. The brownie had to jump out of the way to avoid getting swept away by the furred end. The tiny hero watched Wild shift positions and hug his tail. He waited dutifully until he was sure the nightly terrors did not plague the Champion again before going out of his way.

Four scurried past the bedrolls and skidded to a stop where Hyrule's translucent wings peeked inside Legend's hat. The pixie had assumed his fae form and picked that part of the Veteran's attire as a comfortable sleeping spot. The merman did not complain much, though he seemed worried he might accidentally squish the pixie in his sleep. It was an understandable concern - fae folk like he and Hyrule were usually tiny in their true forms. However, the Traveler seemed confident that it would not happen, and from what the Smith had observed so far, Legend did not move much in his sleep. How and when Hyrule started trusting the gruff merman remains a mystery to Four.

The brownie's green eyes surveyed his surroundings until he found what he was looking for. The pixie's magic sword was lying against a tree stump near the Veteran's feet. Four scuttled towards it and grimaced. He had not unsheathed the weapon yet, but he could already smell the horrid stench of monster guts. The heroes came from an ambush just after dinner, much to the Champion's annoyance.

It was a grueling battle - the monsters were greater in number than they had faced as a group and, unsurprisingly, infected. They were fortunate to come out with just a few broken bones and ugly bruises. Most of the heroes cleaned their weapons afterward, but a few decided to sleep first. The Traveler just happened to be one of them.

Four had already finished cleaning the other heroes' items, and Hyrule's was the only one left. He knew he should not touch their things without permission, but he could not just leave their first lines of offense and defense in poor condition. The dirt and grime would accumulate and dull the weapons, making it difficult to take down enemies in a fight. He should have just told the others to tend to their own stuff earlier, but they had been exhausted from the consecutive battles the past three days. As much as it bothered him, having as much rest as possible was the highest priority now.

The tree stump was low enough for Four to climb with little difficulty. Hyrule's sword was comparably lighter than the others, and the brownie managed to haul it atop without the need to divide himself. He pushed off the sheath to reveal the stained blade and assessed which parts had the worst. He called forth the power of the shrunk Four Sword, and the divided heroes started their work.

Four was the most knowledgeable about weaponry among the Heroes of Courage present. He prided himself on it and strove to utilize it for the benefit of the group. He was definitely an odd one for a brownie - his race was known for their unparalleled devotion to housework.

But Four did not want that. He did not want to be stuck attending to household chores for the rest of his life, so when he got a chance to meet their sister race, the Minish, he decided to learn their ways. The Hero of the Four Sword was determined to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and became a blacksmith like him. Being a hero was not part of the plan, but it made an excellent excuse not to appear as an outcast within the brownie community. Plus, it came with some perks bestowed upon him for all his valiant efforts. After all, it was not every day that a brownie became a hero chosen by the Goddess Hylia.

The Colors, as they and a few people called them, had managed to scrape off the monster guts stuck on the blade and moved on to wiping the nearly dried black blood. They spread out to tackle different parts of the pixie's sword - Green assigned himself the entire hilt, Blue and Red worked together on the blade, and Vio took care of the scabbard. They worked in practiced synchrony, exchanging little words to direct each other to what needed to be done.

By the time the Colors finished, the moon was already past its peak and dipping to the west. They sheathed the pixie's sword and carefully set it back against the stump. The four heroes merged back in one, and Four sat down to rest. His ears twitched at the sound of rustling leaves, and when he whirled around, he came face-to-face with a pair of sapphire eyes.

The Smith's heartbeat picked up at the sight of the quadruped form of the Hero of Twilight. Four had yet to tell anyone. It was only Time who knew about the Four Sword's ability. He had forgotten to keep track of the watch duty - a fatal oversight on his part if he were in battle right now. The Rancher stared at him intently as if waiting for him to speak or make the first move.

"Uhhh…hey, Twilight." Four cringed internally at how squeaky his voice was. "Lovely evening, isn't it?"

The wolf huffed, clearly unamused by his greeting. His warm breath swept across the brownie like a powerful gust of wind. Black rectangles enveloped the werewolf as he transformed into his human form. Four had sensed Time's magic before whenever the Old Man would change, but his was different from Twilight's.

Scratch that. The Rancher's magic was unlike any wolven magic the Smith had encountered. His magic was unnatural, or rather, something was wrong with it. It felt as if something that should not exist was mixed in. The foreign signature reminded the Smith of Vaati, but different. Perhaps, more ancient than any magic the brownie had ever come across. He was sure the other magic-sensitive heroes noticed it, too, but they did not address it out of respect.

Twilight spared the brownie a stern look. "I won't tell anyone," He spoke up. "Just don't compromise your health next time for something that can be done later."

Four looked surprised by that. Then again, the Rancher was not one to be privy to other people's secrets. Still, it was easy for him to say that since he was not the one worrying about their primary means of survival during fights. Knowledge was a double-edged sword - it could either protect or hurt you. In this case, it was not just Smith's life that depended on it, but eight others.

Gravel crunched, and fabric rustled as the Rancher sat beside the tree stump. He crossed his legs and looked up at the starry sky. The brownie recognized the sheen of nostalgia in the taller man's eyes. He had seen it many times from his fellow heroes.

"You know," Twilight started. "I wasn't always able to shift. Not until I started my adventure."

Four perked up. Was he going to…? The Rancher was one of the more private individuals regarding their adventures. Not that any of them could blame each other - a hero's life was not always about fame and glory. Those were just fairy tales told to children - all heavily altered to sugarcoat the violence, bloodshed, and tragedies from innocent minds. Sometimes, they did not get to become bedtime stories at all and were simply lost to the endless passage of time.

Twilight leaned against the stump, still not tearing his eyes away from the sky. "No one in the village where I grew up is a werewolf. I didn't even know I was one. In fact, wolves are considered dangerous and are killed at sight."

The brownie inched closer as he listened intently. The latter's eyes swirled in purple as he drank every word the other spoke. Whether the werewolf noticed him or not, he did not comment about it. The Rancher seemed immersed in telling his tale, albeit depriving of specific details.

"Then, one day, something happened. Darkness shrouded the land, and that triggered my first transformation. Safe to say, it wasn't a smooth transition, and I had no one else to turn to for guidance until a bit later. I was basically a newborn pup trying to stand up on its own."

The Rancher shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, you know how it goes. Fought the Big Bad and saved Hyrule. The darkness was gone, but it remained imprinted in me and left tangible proof of its existence in the form of my pendant. I suppose it's a reminder of my adventure. Of the things I gained…." He looked down at his palms. His voice was deathly silent, even against the quiet night. "And lost."

A small smile played on Twilight's lips as he finally looked at the Smith. It was neither scheming nor patronizing. Instead, it was empathizing about something the heroes share in common. "It wasn't easy, wasn't it? It will never be easy. No matter how many times we tell ourselves it is over and to move on."

The Rancher was right, but the Smith did not want to be reminded of it. Some wounds remained fresh even after the years. Whether as Four or the Colors, he still missed Shadow. "Why are you telling me this?"

"A secret for a secret." The Hero of Twilight answered. "It's a fair deal, don't you think?"

Four snorted, though he could not hide the smile on his lips. "You shouldn't have, you know. Everyone will catch wind of it sooner or later. The Old Man already knows."

Twilight scowled. "No, thank you. I'd rather not have the Captain or the Veteran nosing through my tragic backstory." That earned him a squeaky laugh from the Hero of the Four Sword. "Still, a brownie who's a blacksmith? Isn't that strange?"

"What I find stranger is a werewolf having a dragon as his protégé." Four countered, though there was no malice in his words - just amusement and curiosity. "How did you even meet the Champion before this?"

"Who knows?" The werewolf shrugged. His eyes had a playful glint in them - a rare occurrence for the typically pensive man. "Maybe I got thrown out of a portal way ahead of anyone else and happened to pick up a feral dragon dressed in just his undergarments while I was looking for that era's hero named Link. You can ask Hylia for the details."

Blue flashed in the brownie's eyes. "You're a little shit, aren't you?"

Twilight grinned at him. "I don't know what you're talking about." He stood up and dusted his trousers. "My watch is already over. We should wake up the Veteran and get some sleep ourselves. We still have a long day tomorrow ahead of us."

"Right."

An open hand appeared before the brownie, and he looked up to see Twilight leaning down. "It will be quicker to carry you if you plan to stay in that form." The latter explained. "Of course, if only you allow me to."

Four pondered over the advantages and disadvantages of the offer. "Fine with me," He answered. "But only if you'll carry me whenever I ask to."

That earned him a raised eyebrow. "You're not Wind."

Four crossed his arms in a friendly challenge. "Yeah, but you said it yourself earlier. It is quicker. Probably safer for me, too."

"I didn't say -" Twilight pinched the bridge of his nose. He had unknowingly dug his own grave, had he not? "Fine. You win." He relented, though he did not seem distressed by the arrangement. "But if the others started asking me for rides, I'm blaming you."

Four smiled innocently at that. That would be a problem to worry about later. He hopped on the Rancher's palm and held on the thumb as the taller man carried him to his bedroll. They exchanged hushed goodnights, and the Smith watched as the werewolf navigated through the sleeping bodies to wake Legend. His consciousness was nearly in the throes of sleep when he felt soft fur curled protectively around his small form.

Needless to say, that was the most comfortable sleep Four had in his life.

AU Lore #2:

In this fic, brownies are the sister race of the Minish. The original plan is to make them the same, but I want to give Four a unique background in this AU. I have him go against the traditions and customs of his race and connect them to what characterizes him as a hero. He still retains his instincts as a brownie, which can be seen in how he fusses over the heroes' capability to fight and the conditions of their weaponry. Also, brownies have nearly the same characteristics in and out of fae form. When transformed, they have longer and larger ears, about half their height, and thinner tails with furred tips. They appear more human than their sister race. Unlike them, however, the Minish can't grow to human size and retain their original design in LoZ.