Twilight's POV

The room was silent as all eyes turned to Wild.

Said hero shrank unconsciously into his hood, avoiding meeting eye-contact.

I reached out and placed a hand on my Cub's shoulder. This is a hard subject. It took about two months for him to finally tell us.

"You don't have to tell us, sweetie…" Cevi shot Link a look, despite looking curious as well.

Ukesa's eyebrow raised above her glasses. She didn't know Wild had scars. To be fair, she was blind.

"But can you tell us how far ahead in the future you are?" Ukesa said, lifting her glass of water to her lips. As least she asked something Wild can answer.

"One hundred years." Wild said, thankful as well.

Cevi leaned forward, intrigue glittering in her eyes. "What happens then?"

Wild squirmed under her gaze. "Well… I live in a time that's known as the Era of the Wild…"

Cevi widened her eyes. "Really? Why?"

"Nature replaced the monarchy and there are only seven settlements." Wild seemed to relax more as he got to talking about his Hyrule. He's very proud of it and loves it like his own child. "It's very beautiful, we can live almost side-by-side with monsters."

I couldn't disagree, thinking about how we once walked straight past a monster camp, in their line of sight without pause.

Wild rambled on and on about his Hyrule, the others were amazed.

Wild's head was on my shoulder.

He was halfway through his story about when a kid from a stable managed to kill a blue bokoblin all by herself when his words turned into soft snores.

He had fallen asleep against my shoulder.

I smiled softly and wrapped my arm around his shoulders. To keep him feeling secured and safe. A luxury denied to each of us on our adventures, running from monsters one day, solving puzzles the next.

Ukesa laughed gently. "I guess it is getting a little late, isn't it?"

Cevi nodded, smiling. "Yes it is."

Over the next few minutes, Link retreated to his room next to under the stairs, and Cevi and Ukesa climbers the stairs, leaving Wild and I with a couch, two armchairs, and two blankets.

Guess they weren't expecting me to lay behind my Cub on the couch, both blankets covering us.

Wild snuggled in closer to my chest and away from the edge. A reasonable fear: falling off the edge.

I stared into the dying flames. In an all-too-familiar fireplace. In a house a century younger, and under the ownership of another family.

The rest of our family was missing. Leaving the room too quiet.

Four wasn't talking in his sleep, usually arguing with himself in four different voices, Wind wasn't squirming and kicking causing whoever he's sleeping with to complain loudly. Warriors and Legend weren't arguing quietly to themselves. It was all quiet.

Wild's whispering voice as he murmured to himself reached my ears just before the crackling of the fire.

I had wrapped my pelt around my Cub's shoulders. My chainmail was sitting on the table, it's little difficult to sleep in a heavy middle layer shirt.

But my shadow crystal necklace tore into my throat, humming like a second heartbeat under my tunic and over my undershirt.

I can resist the change by now, but it takes a lot out of me and a concentration I can't keep up asleep. And I didn't want to accidentally turn anyone sleeping next to me (usually my Cub) into a beast.

I was tempted to shift into a wolf for my Cub, to make him comfortable, but my extra size would push him off, and if I didn't wake early enough, or someone was in need of a midnight snack, they would be met with a beast they don't know.

I didn't realize when I drifted off to sleep, Wild's heartbeat harmonizing with mine.