Chapter Text
“Oh, get up,” General Rodgers sighed above him, and all Link could do was continue to lay there on the ground, fighting to get enough air despite every breath sending pain through his whole body.
His limbs felt so heavy, and it scared him that he couldn’t move because that didn’t make sense. He should still be able to move, he was sure he had a few broken ribs from how hard he’d been hit but there wasn’t anything wrong with his arms or legs. He was just stuck and he didn’t know why. Panic washed over him as he struggled, but his efforts got him nowhere.
“Quit your crying,” his commanding officer demanded, and Link felt his breath catch in his throat. He hadn’t realized, he didn’t even feel the tears on his face. He couldn’t feel much of anything. “You know I didn’t want to, I’ve already told you this. You’re just so difficult sometimes, Barclay. You don’t listen, and you talk back.”
It was hard to remember what he’d done to anger Rodgers this time around, maybe he’d been hit in the head too because he was having a hard time thinking without pain shooting through his skull. He was struggling to even remember where he was, and he couldn’t see much to help him figure it out with how his head was turned, his cheek pressed into the ground. He could just barely make out the dirt right in front of him with how his head was spinning but he couldn’t focus on it for long without feeling nauseous.
“You make me do this.”
Colors swam in front of him and he squeezed his eyes shut, but it didn’t help much because his body felt like it was being flipped upside down and he quickly became terrified that he was going to throw up.
“You just make me so angry.”
There was an uncomfortable pressure against his back, making his spine ache, and he let out a small whimper. The dull throbbing was so much more unbearable than the sharp pain in his chest but he couldn’t get his limbs to move so he could help himself, and he felt so incredibly dizzy after being left without a clue as to which way up was. Had Rodgers flipped him around?
He really hoped he hadn’t, he didn’t want him to touch him. He wanted to be left alone.
“Look at me when I speak to you, boy.”
His eyes flew open but he couldn’t see anything, Rodgers was nowhere to be found and the only thing in front of him was a plain white wall. There were voices talking over him but he couldn’t make out what they were saying, nor could he find where they were coming from. It made him so frustrated he wanted to cry, but it was getting difficult for him to even move his eyes, let alone his face. It was like his entire body was shutting down, leaving him trapped and helpless.
“I feel weird.” It was his voice that spoke, but he hadn’t moved his mouth, and it sounded too much like it’d come from outside of his brain to have been just a loud thought. “What did you do to me?”
His vision started to go dark around the edges or was it instead that shadows grew around him, covering up the wall as they whispered, “Nothing. You’re fine.”
He didn’t feel fine, his heart was pounding in his chest and his whole body felt like it was going completely numb. Keeping his eyes open felt like the hardest thing he’d ever had to do in his life, and whatever was trying to drag him into unconsciousness fought hard to get him to just give up. He didn’t feel safe, no part of what the muttering voices said felt comforting to him as they tried to convince him to just close his eyes and let go.
What was happening to him…?
He was losing, he felt like he had no control over himself as his eyes started to close and he was forced to give up. The last thing he saw before he passed out was the shadow of a figure on the wall.
“War… Eleno… Medicine time.”
He flinched as his eyes flew open, looking around wildly before his eyes landed on the only other person in the room. Warriors was much closer to him than he’d been expecting, and for a moment he was confused about what was going on before the memories from the past two days came rushing back and guilt stabbed straight through him.
“It’s about time for your next dose. This one is just the herbs and the red potion, I promise. Do you feel well enough to drink it?” Warriors asked.
Right… Because there’d been something in the tea last time that knocked him out.
War thought he’d have been more angry about that, he’d screamed at Time for listening to a doctor and sedating him against his will before because he didn’t like feeling powerless like that. He didn’t like feeling so out of control of his own body, he didn’t like how people had used it against him before. But he couldn’t find it in himself to get mad at Warriors. The other hero had put up with so much of his shit, he’d done so much for him, and all War ever seemed to do was hurt him. He didn’t blame Warriors for drugging him so he didn’t have to deal with him.
Or the doctor for completely ignoring him and how uncomfortable he’d been in favor of just talking about him to Warriors as if War couldn’t speak for himself, as if his voice didn’t matter at all. Not that it ever seemed to, but he’d hoped that maybe his friend would’ve listened to him when he’d been overstimulated and tried to ask him for a moment…
He didn’t really deserve to ask anything of Warriors at this point. Not after he’d hurt him.
His voice failed completely when he opened his mouth to speak, so he found himself just nodding instead. He’d drink the tea, and he wouldn’t blame the other hero if he left after giving it to him because he wouldn’t want to be around someone like him either.
“Are you strong enough to hold it yourself?” he asked as he held it out for him. “And it’s okay if you’re still tired. We can try to have a late breakfast, or maybe lunch instead. The doctor said we need food, water, and rest but the food can wait a bit.”
War struggled to adjust how he was sitting, the dull ache in his lower back reaching a point where he couldn’t ignore the discomfort, and his eyes widened in shock at the sheer volume of his spine popping. It hurt for a moment, but eventually it left him feeling better and since he’d been able to successfully move himself he figured he could handle holding a cup and not dumping it in his lap so he gave Warriors another nod. He handed it over, only letting go when he had a good grip on it.
“Are you feeling better today?” he asked with a hint of a smile on his face.
“Um…” War tried to force himself to speak, but on top of that being more difficult than it should’ve been he also wasn’t quite sure, so he started drinking his tea as he thought about his answer.
His lungs still ached, that gods awful sound was still present whenever he took a breath, and he really hated the coughing because of how bad it hurt but he’d suffer through it if it just meant getting the shit out of his lungs. His body felt stiff and sore and he wanted to get up and move but he wasn’t sure Warriors would let him and he wasn’t even sure he physically could, and he couldn’t tell if his fever had improved at all. He just felt… gross. And overstimulated. And like a selfish, disgusting being for having screamed at his friend yesterday morning when all the other hero had ever done was be kind to him.
He didn’t want to make Warriors wait for him to answer. He didn’t want him to get frustrated with him again, he wasn’t trying to be difficult, so he struggled to string together a sentence and push his mouth to make the right sounds even though it felt incredibly wrong and strange to do so. “I’m not sure. Less tired, because sleep.”
Warriors frowned at him for a moment before he shook his head and adopted a more neutral expression. “We’re here for two more nights, so it’s fine if you’re not feeling better right now. We have some time.”
‘You’re keeping him from getting to his friends faster. He hasn’t seen them in an incredibly long time and this is your fault.’
War resisted the urge to violently smack his head back into the headboard to shut his own brain up because ultimately that would probably only get him yelled at, and he bit his lip as his eyes started to water. He shouldn’t have been so careless, he should’ve been paying attention to where he was walking and what was around him. He was the one who’d spotted the lake and headed towards it.
He finished his tea quickly, it tasted horrible with the medicines added to it but he wasn’t going to say a damn word about it because complaining was pointless and Warriors was probably more than fed up with what he had to say at this point. He wished he could apologize for being so horrible but last time he’d tried the other hero had told him it didn’t mean anything, and he didn’t want to be manipulative like his old commanding officer and sit there and beg for Warriors to listen to whatever he had to say for himself. He had no excuse for his behavior.
It was when he turned to hand the cup back to the other hero that he realized he hadn’t fully looked at him yet, and War couldn’t stop his eyes from widening in alarm when he saw Warriors’s burnt skin.
The curtains were wide open, what was he doing?? Why hadn’t he shut them?? War had never been sunburnt before but it looked incredibly painful so there was no way Warriors was unaware of the state of himself.
Warriors frowned at him again, then followed his line of sight to his chest. “You won’t like the answer,” he mumbled. “I knew I would stay asleep and miss your next dose if I fell asleep like normal so I had to find a way to wake myself up. The innkeeper didn’t really like it either.” His tone was neutral, like he was talking about something that happened to be somebody else and not his own burns.
Horror and a brand new surge of guilt hit him so strongly that he couldn’t stop the tears that started rolling down his face. He wanted it to stop, he had no right to cry because all of this was his fucking fault because not only was he stupid enough to get himself injured but all that time Rodgers had spent beating him still hadn’t trained him to keep his damn mouth shut, and how dare he sit here and overreact when faced with the consequences of his own actions. He had no right to sit there and cry after he’d found a new way in which he’d hurt his friend.
“Wa- Eleno, it’s okay,” he said, sitting down on the end of his bed so that he was eye level with him. “They look worse than they are and I used to do this by accident all the time. It’s not a big deal and I don’t mind doing this for you. You… hurt my feelings the other day, but I still care about you. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t care. Please don’t beat yourself up for my decisions.”
He needed to stop crying, he desperately needed to stop crying, and usually he’d just hold his breath for a moment to force himself to calm down before he started sobbing but with his lungs in their current condition the only thing that did was trigger a coughing fit. And he found himself doubled over trying to get it to just stop and all he managed to do successfully was make himself feel dizzier and more upset.
Warriors placed his good hand on the bed, right beside War. He didn’t say anything but it was still an invitation.
War was worried for a moment that he was going to be sick, he didn’t deserve comfort after fucking up this badly, and the second his body decided to have pity on him and let him stop coughing he just fell limply onto his side, fighting to catch his breath. The room was spinning and the back of his neck burned in a way that made him question if it wasn’t just the guilt he felt that was making him nauseous.
It was hard to keep track of how much time he spent laying there, shaking and trying his best to get air, but eventually it didn’t feel like such a struggle and his eyes became harder to keep open as exhaustion hit.
“Do you need me to leave you alone for a bit?”
He didn’t want to be left alone, but it would be selfish to ask him to stay when Warriors probably wanted a break from him and he was sure he was about to pass out anyway.
“Okay,” War croaked out, wondering if any part of that was audible as he just closed his eyes and let himself fall back asleep.
“War! Do you want some food?” Warriors was surprisingly loud. “I also have water! Just.. plain water.”
He opened his eyes in confusion, blinking at the wall until the pain registered and he let out a small whimper. Everything ached, his whole body was so, so sore and he felt so cold and he couldn’t even figure out where Warriors was because that required lifting his head to figure out and all he wanted to do was cry. Which would be justified this time, because the universe had seen him being selfish and manipulative and had decided to give him something real to cry about.
It took him an annoyingly long time to register what had been said to him, and while he wasn’t sure he could move he found a way to mumble out, “Please.”
It took two trips for Warriors to get everything since he only had one arm he could use. He first brought food in the form of cut up fruit and cheese diced into squares. The next trip was the water in a canteen. While he set the canteen down beside him, Warrior’s gaze landed on the end of the bed. Silently, he grabbed the scarf from the end of it and awkwardly draped it across the blanket he was using.
“I can’t believe I forgot to give your scarf back.”
War frowned in confusion, blinking up at him as he weakly grabbed at the edge of his beloved scarf to bring it a little closer to his face. The second he’d gotten a good grip on it he felt something inside him that’d been going insane start to calm down, and he let out a shaky breath, tightening his fingers around the fabric.
“I’m sorry, I took it off when the doctor was coming and I… just forgot it at the end of the bed. I know our scarves are special, I should have made sure you had yours last night.”
He pulled it a little closer to himself, running his thumb along the worn embroidery at the end like he’d done so many times before whenever he was stressed or anxious or scared. It was grounding, comforting, and he felt stupid for needing his scarf to calm himself but it really did work.
“‘S okay, don’t have to ‘pologize,” his words slurred together a bit but he was happy he’d been able to speak a full sentence.
Warriors got himself some food, then sat down near the foot of his bed. He ate a piece of cheese and then said, “We should talk about what happened yesterday.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, taking a deep breath before doing his best to push himself upright. His back wasn’t happy with him, and his hips decided they might as well hurt too, but eventually he got himself leaning back against the pillows. It was uncomfortable as hell as he was pretty sure his left leg was going to go numb if he stayed there for too long but they did need to talk and he owed Warriors the respect of sitting up and looking him in the face.
“I’m not mad that you shouted at me… but I am still hurt by it,” he started. “I wasn’t trying to hide my arm from you. I just didn’t want to stress you out, especially since you weren’t really in any condition to actually do anything for it. I only wanted to wait until you were feeling better but I guess that didn’t work.”
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you, shouldn’t have raised my voice. Never,” War shook his head hard, grabbing his scarf again and wishing speaking wasn’t still so hard. There was so much he needed to apologize for and he felt ill with worry that he wouldn’t be able to get his words right and he’d make things worse. “I- I didn’t mean to, ‘s not an excuse for how I treated you. I don’t… I…”
He bit his lip and tried to get his brain to work faster, it wasn’t fair to beg for Warriors’s forgiveness but he did want the other hero to know he regretted everything. He needed him to know he was worried, and that he’d just been foolish enough to let that worry turn to anger.
“I don’t like seeing you get hurt because of me,” War signed with slightly trembling hands, staring down at his lap. “You’ve been injured horrifically over the past two weeks because I wasn’t paying enough attention to something and I’m so, so sorry. When I saw your arm the only thing I could think about was how horribly self centered I am to have not noticed how much pain you were in earlier.” He decided that mentioning how upset he was that Warriors didn’t pay enough attention to his own injuries would be a bad idea, that conversation never ended well, so he didn’t bring that up. “I know you’ll heal, but I just… My heart hurts seeing you injured because of me because I don’t deserve that. You’ve been so incredibly selfless and kind to me and I owe you more than I can repay for saving my life. I’m sorry I’ve been so selfish and causing you pain.”
“The reason why I take all these bad hits doesn’t have anything to do with you, truly. It’s my own issue that I have to deal with. Sometimes, it just feels like that’s the best way to make use of this curse, the one silver lining I have. I’m probably not going to stop protecting you if I can,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I also don’t think you’ve been selfish, so don’t say that about yourself. It’s impossible to pay attention to everything. If anything, I should have killed that octorok before it could hit you again.”
“I’ve been horrible,” his voice cracked and he had to dig his nails into his forearm to stop his tears from falling again. “I’ve been- I’ve been so awful and self centered and I’m not trying to be difficult, ‘m not, I don’t want to be difficult- I don’t… I’m keeping you from getting to your friends because I’ve been fucking stupid, you don’t have to wait for me.” He looked back up at Warriors and he was sure he looked absolutely pathetic but he hoped the other hero could see how genuinely he meant that. There was no reason Warriors should be forced to wait for him, not when War was inevitably going to cause him more pain and suffering anyway, he didn’t need to be trapped here with someone who only successfully hurt him and frustrated him.
“I’m not leaving you behind,” Warriors said firmly. “It’s Lana's fault I’m not with my brothers, not yours. Besides, I enjoy being with you. I like listening to you talk my ears off about something you’re passionate about. I dunno, talking to you is different. I’ve told you things I’ve never told my brothers. Our stories aren’t the same but it’s still nice to have somebody who understands the pressure of being in her sight. You’re not awful or self-centered. Sometimes you’re a little frustrating but I know I’ve been frustrating too.” He cradled his left arm again, though his face didn’t show any signs of pain.
War couldn’t help but flinch at the mention of the sorceress and he pulled at his scarf until he could drag the whole thing to rest in his lap, balling it up so he had something to hold. He stared down at it for a moment, focusing on keeping his breathing steady until he dared to speak.
“…Is your arm alright?”
“It feels better with a splint in it. I will need more rest and maybe more blood before it can really start healing but the doctor gave me a potion and he’s going to give me more painkillers when he comes back.” He let his arm go and held it up for War to see. “You know though… I didn’t actually understand how much pain I was in until the pain killers kicked in and I didn’t feel it anymore. The doctor called my pain tolerance frightening. I guess I really am just used to it from taking the bad hits for my brothers or I was just good at blocking it out for a while.”
He wasn’t a fan of Warriors’s ability to push through pain like that, his friend shouldn’t be so used to it that he could do that so easily, but he was glad someone had been able to give him the care he needed. Though there was one thing Warriors mentioned that he wasn’t very happy about.
“He’s coming back…?” War asked quietly, trying to keep his expression calm but he could feel the way his brows furrowed. He didn’t want the doctor to come back, he didn’t like doctors to begin with and he’d hated how helpless he’d felt the entire time that man was in the room. He didn’t like how he’d felt pressured to let him check his ribs because he didn’t feel like he could refuse, he didn’t like how the doctor had stuck his fingers against his neck without any kind of warning, and it was the doctor who’d given Warriors the sedative and added it to the tea and told Warriors to keep him upright, which had had the other hero grabbing him and sitting him up when War had been trying so hard to calm himself down and his request for just a minute to be left alone had been very much ignored.
Everything that had happened yesterday after he’d passed out on the floor had left him so overstimulated and panicked because he hadn’t felt like he was allowed to say when things made him uncomfortable. He’d been nervous about Warriors getting upset with him so he’d been hesitant to speak up, and the one time he’d finally gathered the courage to attempt to draw a boundary he’d been called difficult. And then later drugged. He didn’t want the doctor to come back, he didn’t want to feel that helpless and weak ever again.
“Within a day or two. He wants to check my arm again and of course, see how you’re doing. He’s going to bring me the painkillers then. I’m sorry if you don’t like it but I just didn’t feel like I could help you by myself anymore,” he said with a frown. “I just didn’t know what else to do.”
It would be selfish and rude to say anything. The doctor wasn’t just coming for him, and the man had been able to help Warriors even if what he’d given War didn’t feel like it was helping a whole lot yet. And Warriors seemed like he wasn’t annoyed or sick of him right now, so it would be the smart decision to just keep his mouth shut and not say anything because his friend had done everything he could think of to get him help and War needed to learn how to be grateful.
“I’m sorry for doing this to you,” he gestured at himself weakly before finally reaching over to grab a small piece of cheese. “I’ve probably put you under a ridiculous amount of stress…”
“It’s been very stressful and overwhelming, I can’t deny that. I still haven’t caught up on sleep either and I would like nothing more than to pass out for a whole day again, but I can’t do that until you’re well enough to take the medicine on your own. I don’t hold it against you though. Like I said earlier, it’s not like you wanted to drown or get shocked by whatever the fuck that was. You’re forgiven,” he said with a smile.
“…Really?” War whispered, fighting to stop the corners of his mouth from turning down as his vision started to blur with unshed tears. He didn’t know if Warriors meant specifically for him being so careless or if he meant the yelling as well, but he hadn’t been expecting either.
“I shouldn’t have said your apology meant nothing yesterday. I just lost my patience because I couldn’t believe I got lectured when you’re the one who passed out and I’m sorry if I pushed you too far yesterday because of that. I wasn’t in the mood for it. I know you feel bad though and I appreciate your explanation, so you’re forgiven.”
He pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, bending forward until his elbows hit his knees so he had some support to help him stay upright while he just tried to keep his breathing steady. Some of the guilt that felt like it’d been weighing him down since yesterday morning lifted, but he still felt horrible for how he’d treated his friend and how Warriors continued to stay miserable because of him. He wanted to tell the other hero to get some sleep but he didn’t want to end up missing his next dose and making Warriors feel bad or get angry with him for it, and he wasn’t confident in his own ability to be awake or remember to take it at the right time.
Tears fell onto his hands as he just sat there trying to process everything, occasionally letting out a small cough when the itchy feeling in his lungs grew impossible to fight against. Warriors didn’t hate him. War hadn’t irreparably fucked this up yet. He’d just have to be extra cautious and watch his mouth, and his surroundings, and not be such a pain in the ass. The other hero was just as overwhelmed as he was, War needed to just listen and not be difficult and then he wouldn’t add even more to his friend’s stress.
“War, are you okay? Do you need your water?”
He shook his head, sniffing and taking in a shaky breath before holding it because he really didn’t want to sound pathetic and just start sobbing.
“I’ll be here if you need me then,” he said.
It took a good few minutes for him to stop crying, he’d managed to stay mostly silent the entire time with the exception of every time he’d started coughing, and when he’d thoroughly cried himself to a point where he just felt exhausted and emotionally numb he pushed himself back to rest against the pillows. He didn’t really want to make eye contact with Warriors, he was sure he looked like absolute shit. He felt awful, his eyes were likely red from crying and he could feel the dried tears on his face, and the area around his eyes felt swollen too.
Grabbing more cheese and popping it into his mouth took a hell of a lot more effort than it should’ve, but he forced himself to do it anyway and also managed to get a few sips of his water.
“Thank you,” he mumbled, rubbing at his poor irritated eyes. It was hard to keep them open for much longer and with Warriors not saying anything to him, he figured he could give his friend a break from dealing with him and get some more sleep, so he didn’t fight it when his eyelids started to close.
“Sleep well,” Warriors said.
Warriors sighed as he took War’s plate from him and once he had the dishes gathered, he took them downstairs and headed back up so he could get ready for the day. He wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep but he had to stay up so that War could get his next dose and there was another concern that he had that made it hard for him to sleep. Warriors was concerned about their finances.
Normally, he didn’t have to worry about how many rupees they had to spend. At home, he was paid generously. On the road with his brothers, they always had things to sell if they really needed some extra funds but for the most part, Wild had more than enough rupees and Warriors got some funds from his era whenever he could. They never had to worry about not having enough rupees.
With just the two of them though, and with no timeline for how long they were going to be together though, he was starting to stress about it. The doctor’s fee was half the rupees he had and he still had to pay for at least two more nights at the inn. At least two. They may still need more time, depending on how both of them felt. They also needed more potions that weren’t part of their treatments.
His goal for the day was to get more rupees somehow. He only had one arm so that limited his options but once he was ready, he grabbed his wallet and left the inn.
Warriors was so worried about getting to the inn yesterday to check on War that he didn’t explore the town much so he picked a direction and walked, thinking about how he could make his wallet heavier. He turned two corners and ended up in a weird alley where he saw a sign with a treasure chest on it, along with the word ‘game’. He never played a chest game before but he had heard about it from the others before.
He had to admit, he was a little nervous about the prospects of gambling to get rupees. The chest game, from what he gathered, was just luck based and their luck was either really good or really bad. He could win a lot or lose a lot.
But he could do it with one arm so he decided to give it a shot. When he walked in, he found a bored looking woman at the counter and she didn’t even bother to look up at him until he walked up to her. She didn’t even give him a chance to talk before she recited what must have been very practiced lines.
“It’s ten rupees to try. Pick a chest and if you find a key, you go to the next room. If you lose, you come back here and get a prize depending on how far you got. I will follow you to see how far you go.”
Warriors nodded and paid. She put it away somewhere under the counter and gestured towards the door. He opened it and walked in.
The room was empty, save for the door behind him, the locked door in front of him, and two chests sitting side by side between the two. The woman at the counter was behind him. Warriors ignored her and walked up to the chests, kneeling down in front of them. He couldn't see a difference between the two but didn’t expect to note a difference. However, he could smell iron. He couldn’t see a lock in the front, so he assumed it was a simple hinge in the back of the chests that made them open and close. He didn’t know what metal hinges were typically made of but even if they were made of iron, he doubted it was enough iron for him to smell.
It must have been the key.
The game was meant to be luck based but Warriors was relieved to find that it didn’t have to be. He moved between each chest and he opened the chest that smelled the most like iron. In it, he found the first key, which was surprisingly heavy and seemed rather old. It absolutely reeked of iron. The woman behind didn’t say anything and just followed him as he unlocked the first door.
Warriors used the same strategy for the next rooms. The next room had three chests to pick from, and then he had to pick between four chests in the third room. The final room had him picking between seven chests but his nose didn’t fail him and he successfully opened the door at the end.
“That’s the final prize,” the woman confirmed. Warriors nodded and opened it to find four purple rupees. He could hardly believe it. He picked them out of the chest and dropped them into his wallet.
“You can play again tomorrow,” she said simply. Warriors nodded again and left the shop.
He had about three hundred rupees now, which was more than enough to pay for the inn but it wasn’t enough for him to be comfortable so he decided to keep going and see if he could find more games to play. Just down the road, he found another game shop, this time it was a throwing game. He had ten throwing daggers to use to hit three targets with coloured rings and get as many points as he could. Being a vampire didn’t help him here but he was always good at throwing things. Warriors wasn’t the best at aiming with an arrow but for some reason, he could throw other things and his aim was surprisingly good when he did.
Warriors didn’t typically use throwing daggers nor did he use his right arm, so he decided to risk using his broken arm. He knew if War or the doctor ever found out, he would get an earful, but the man behind the counter seemed amused at least.
He considered his first throw to be a waste. He didn’t hit the target, though he was annoyingly close. The second time, he tried to put more spin on the dagger when he threw it and while he hit the target, it was on the outermost ring, the one that gave the fewest amount of points. The third dagger was closer than the first two but he still didn’t hit the middle of any of them. He did feel like he was getting a better grasp on it though.
“Gotta say, not too bad for somebody with their arm in a cast,” the shopkeeper said. “I’m surprised you’re trying at all.”
“I like throwing things,” Warriors mumbled in response as he took a deep breath and threw his fourth dagger. Again, not in the middle, but he hit the ring that gave the second most points.
“How did you break your arm anyway?” the shopkeeper asked as Warriors threw dagger number five. That one hit the middle.
“Monsters,” he answered. “I’m a swordsman who travels. Sometimes, the monsters get a lucky hit.”
“Ah, I’ve heard of them running around lately. I haven’t heard of them running into town or anything but I hear the roads are bad lately. You’re lucky it’s just your arm.”
Warriors frowned as he threw another dagger, hitting the middle of another target. He was lucky and relatively hardly but War wasn’t as lucky and now he was paying the price. He didn’t take what the shopkeeper said personally though - it wasn’t like he knew.
“Definitely could have been a lot worse,” he said simply. War could have died. He could have been killed by the dark shape that shocked him, or he could have drowned because Warriors took long to find him or resuscitate him. War was still in a bad way but it could have been worse.
He had four daggers left. He buried one near the middle of the third target, which annoyed him because he wasn’t sure he could get another dagger into the middle of that one.
“Are you staying here until your arm heals?”
“Probably not, even with the monsters around. I’ll be fine,” Warriors answered. “I don’t have time for it.”
Before the shopkeeper could respond, he threw the last three daggers.
“That puts you in the one hundred rupees range!” That wasn’t too bad for the twenty rupees he spent to play the game. It wasn’t as high of a payout as the other game but maybe people, on average, did better at the throwing game then the lucky chest game. “You want to try again with a different set? I’ve got throwing stars too. I don’t know if it’ll be better on your arm but you don’t have to lift your arm up.”
“Stars sound interesting!”
Warriors might have spent too much time at the throwing gallery, switching between daggers and stars, and talking to the shopkeeper. He learned that the game shop had been in the family for three generations now and that he was also really good at throwing the daggers since he played for free as a kid. He would have stayed longer if it wasn’t for the fact that his arm suddenly ached so badly that he dropped the dagger he was about to throw.
“That looks bad. How about I refund you for that game and you go get some rest?”
He had four more daggers to throw but he decided to just nod and accept the refund. He bid the shopkeeper goodbye and headed back to the inn, paying what he owed for the two more nights and asking for lunch before going up to his room.
War didn’t move the entire time he was gone. He was still pale and despite the sleep aid and the extra sleep, he had dark shadows under his eyes. He looked rough but not necessarily worse. Just not better. His eyes were open but Warriors doubted that War was really present.
“You awake?” he asked, closing the curtains so that there was still some light in the room but not enough sunlight that he was in danger of getting more burns when he didn’t need the extra burns.
War let out a sleepy hum and his eyes scanned the room until they found him. “I think so, yeah.”
“I asked the innkeeper for lunch so it should be soon if you’re hungry,” Warriors offered as he sat down on his own bed and took his boots off.
“Oh okay,” the other hero blinked, seeming much more awake. “…Would you maybe be able to help me stand up for a minute after lunch? I need to get off my back, it's feeling really sore.”
“Sure, I can do that.” He didn’t think War was asking for anything unreasonable. He’s been stuck in bed before too and he understood the desire to just get up and stretch for a bit. As long as War took it easy while he was up, it couldn’t be hard on him if Warriors was there to make sure he got back in bed alright.
“Thanks,” War sighed, trying to push himself up a little to feel more comfortable in the meantime. “Were you able to get any rest while I was asleep…? You were saying you’ve been really overwhelmed.”
“I played games,” he answered. War didn’t know that he played a throwing game or cheated at a lucky based game. “I didn’t sleep but I got us a lot more rupees so we can stay for as long as we need.”
“Oh really?” The other hero looked at him in surprise. “How much were you able to get from that?”
“Like… five hundred? Something like that? I lost count.”
War’s eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped a little. “Gods above?? What kind of games did they have you doing for a prize like that??”
“There was a lucky treasure chest game that I won but they didn’t let me play it again after that and then there was a dagger throwing game that I got good at, so I kept playing that instead. You might like it,” he said with a shrug. “Are you starting to feel better?”
“It’s hard to tell…” War sighed, running his thumb over the edge of his scarf. “My chest still aches and I keep getting this horrible itch like I’m about to start coughing, and admittedly I should just- let that happen. I can feel all the shit I need to cough up. And honestly I just feel fucking gross, though I think part of that is that I haven’t eaten a whole lot.” He paused to cough hard into his elbow a few times before letting his head fall back with a groan. “But I do feel better because I’m not as tired and overstimulated as I was, and… I do also feel a bit better emotionally.” There was a guilty, pained expression on his face as he said those last few words quietly, and he bit his lip before raising his head up to look at Warriors with the most neutral expression he could manage.
“I can try and find more fruit later if you think it would help. I know you have some dried fruit but some fresh fruit would also be hydrating,” Warriors offered. “Other than apricots and oranges, is there anything else I should keep an eye out for?”
“I’ll be so honest with you right now, I could eat anything,” the other hero told him, staring at him with huge eyes. “I’m not really that nauseous anymore, I mean I kind of am but I’m confident that’s because of my blood sugar, but I’m really just hungry I think- I, um, I don’t react well with spicy foods, I don’t like how they make my mouth feel, but other than that I don’t think I’d call myself that picky. I trust you to not give me something that’ll kill me so genuinely I don’t mind.”
“Oh don’t worry, I don’t like spicy food either. It makes my mouth feel like it’s burning and fire can kill vampires so it kind of freaks me out.” Warriors was glad to hear that his friend had an appetite though because it was finally starting to feel like War’s health was heading back in the right direction. He had the funds to buy plenty of snacks and fruits so maybe he would head back out when War was napping again.
Before he could say more, there was a knock on the door.
“Sir?” the innkeeper called. “I have your lunch ready!”
“You can bring it in!” Warriors called back as he made some more room on their little table by putting a couple of the extra bottles away. He didn’t think War needed the sedative after the first time so that went into Warriors’ bag, along with the extra potion bottle that Warriors was supposed to take later in the evening. The things War still needed - the herbs, the potion, and the sugarcubes - were the only things left on the table.
“…Could you get the door, sir?” the innkeeper asked quietly. “I can’t quite get the handle, my apologies.”
Warriors nodded, though it wasn’t like the innkeeper could see that, and opened the door wide for him. “Sorry,” he said quickly as he walked in.
“No worries!” The young man laughed, carrying the tray towards the table so he could set it down, and when he turned to leave he caught a glimpse of War and smiled. “Oh! How are you feeling, sir? You look much better.”
War gave him a small wave. “I’ll be alright, thank you for everything.”
“We’ll need more tea with dinner so he keeps getting better,” Warriors said as he put his good hand on the side of the soup bowls to see how warm they were. “Thanks for everything so far though. Sorry for scaring you so much.”
“It’s alright, sir! I’m glad I can help,” the innkeeper said with a smile, heading towards the door. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you!”
“Of course,” Warriors said as the innkeeper closed the door behind him. “War, do you want to eat at the table? You wanted to get out of bed anyway, right?”
“If that’s not too much trouble…?” the other hero said quietly.
Warriors pulled one of the chairs out so that it was easier for War to get in before he walked over to the bed. “How much help do you need? Can you move your legs? Just trying to figure out how to get you up.”
“I’m a little dizzy and I’m mainly just worried about falling down,” War mumbled, slowly pushing himself to sit up straight and away from the pillows before throwing the blankets off himself so he could turn sideways and swing his legs off the mattress. He took a moment to adjust to the change and just breathe, staring down at his lap. “…I think I need help with the standing part.”
“Right,” Warriors mumbled as he held his right arm out for War to grab. “I pull you to your feet and then get behind you once you’re up, okay?”
“Okay,” he nodded, taking a deep breath before grabbing on to Warriors’s hand. Warriors summoned his fangs and pulled him up while also using his powers to anchor him to the floor. It was the first time he used the wall crawl to stay on the floor but he didn’t want to risk making War too dizzy if he ended up stumbling to correct himself. He pulled his right hand out of War’s hand and moved it to his shoulder to better stabilize him.
War quickly grabbed onto his good arm with both hands, looking a little panicked when his left knee started shaking, threatening to give out on him, but he managed to stay upright and after a second of just standing there he whispered, “Sorry. I think I’m good now,” and loosened his grip, letting one of his hands fall down at his side.
“It’s fine,” Warriors mumbled as they started walking towards the table. His first steps were a bit shaky but by the time they got to the table and into the chair, Warriors didn’t have to help him out as much. He still made sure he wasn’t in a position to fall but War was starting to walk on his own. Once War was seated, Warriors took the other chair and dug into his own soup. It was awkward to eat with right hand but his left arm was beginning to hurt again and he really didn’t want to push it.
“Thanks,” the other hero said quietly, twisting and stretching a bit before reaching for his bowl.
“Do you think you might be well enough to mix the herbs on your own for dinner? I can show you how to do it but it really isn’t hard,” Warriors mumbled when his eyes fell on the bag full of herbs.
“Yeah, I can manage,” War nodded. “You should, uh… You should maybe get some rest after lunch. I think I’ll be able to handle myself, so.”
“I will when I get some fruit for you to enjoy later,” he mumbled. He really did want sleep but he also wanted to make sure that War could get up and mix his own herbs first. Warriors couldn’t truly relax until he knew that War was actually well enough to take care of himself. He should also try to find some more blood but he wasn’t entirely confident that he could and War wasn’t any condition to give him any.
“I have my snacks still,” the other hero told him, keeping his tone soft and gentle almost as if he were nervous to be speaking, “and I’m not really used to eating a full sized lunch like this so I think between this and dinner I’ll have plenty of food for today.”
“I’ll consider it. If I’m honest, I’m not sure I can relax until I know you can take care of yourself. If I actually fall asleep, I’m not sure when I’ll wake up and if you really need something, I'm not sure if you could wake me up,” he said with a frown.
“I’m sorry,” War whispered, staring down at his soup.
“Don’t fret about it. If you can make your tea at dinner, then I think I can sleep. It’s only a few more hours. I can make it.”
“If you tell me how to do it now I can make it at dinner by myself,” War mumbled, stirring around his soup as he continued to just stare at it.
Warriors couldn’t tell if he wasn’t eating because he was full, if there was something about the soup itself that he didn’t like, or if War was upset with his answer. The other hero had to be shown either way though, so he simply nodded. After making sure his spoon wouldn’t fall into his soup, he grabbed the little bag that the herbs were in. “This bag has each dose individually packaged, so you put the whole thing into your tea along with a sugar cube since they might taste a little bad,” he said, holding up one of the little packages for War to see. “Then you just add some red potion to it. You probably could have figured it out, I guess."
“Like a couple drops or like a spoonful or does it matter?” War raised an eyebrow, finally starting to eat.
“A couple of drops but I don’t think it really matters if you don’t mind the taste,” he mumbled as he put the package back into the bag and put the bag back on the table so he could finish his soup. “I don’t think you need it or even really want it but I also have the sedative in my bag if you’re having a hard time sleeping.”
“No,” the other hero said quickly in a firm tone before awkwardly clearing his throat, triggering a small coughing fit, and saying in a much softer voice, “I- I don’t think I need it, but thank you.”
“I fucked up getting the doctor involved, didn’t I?” he asked before he could think it through and stop himself. War did look uncomfortable the whole time and he looked horrified when Warriors admitted that to the fact that the first cup of tea had something to help him sleep. He did it all to help War but he couldn’t help but to wonder if War would have reacted better if he tried to help him on his own.
“I was planning on going to the doctor, I was just too tired to deal with it yesterday and I hadn’t really exactly just how much I’d pushed myself until I realized I’d passed out on the floor,” War mumbled, anxiously rubbing at his collarbone. “You made the right call getting him.”
“I haven’t felt like I did anything right,” Warriors mumbled as he finished his soup. “I don’t know if I did the chest compressions right, or if I should have let you go on your own, or maybe I should have let you sleep longer and not push you to get to town…”
“The only reason I’m alive right now is because of you,” his friend told him, lifting his gaze to look at him. “You’ve literally saved my life, Link. Chest compressions aren’t even guaranteed to work, we do them just in case they do but there’s never a promise they will, so you must’ve done them right since I’m sitting here. And I wanted to get to town and rest, I pushed myself too hard and I failed to recognize my own limits and that’s my fault, not yours.”
Warriors couldn’t help but to frown. War was telling him that he did everything right but the doubt he felt for the last two days didn’t ease at all. Even showing War how to do his medicine didn’t even make him feel that much better. He felt like he needed to keep doing more. Maybe if he got the sleep that he knew he needed, it would ease up a bit..
He decided not to wait for War to finish his soup since he could always take the dishes down later when he knew the other hero was done eating. He grabbed his bag, made sure his wallet was inside, and headed towards the door.
“I’ll be back,” he mumbled as he left. War told him he didn’t need to buy fruit but he still felt like he had to do something useful. Warriors still felt like he fucked up somehow and he could also use some space to just… let War’s words sink in. The fact that his arm still hurt didn’t help anything either but without anything else to really focus on, it was really starting to make him feel a little unwell.
While he was looking for the fruit to buy, Warriors found a butcher’s shop. Warriors was scared of going in and asking if they still had any of the blood but he also didn’t have much of a choice. He needed the blood, not just for his arm but also for the burns on his chest. He didn’t pay much attention to anything that was inside of the shop except for the fact that it somehow was quite cold inside even by his standards but thankfully, he didn’t really have to focus on anything else.
“Are you looking for anything?” a petite woman asked.
“Uh… blood.”
“One moment,” she said quickly before going to the back and through a door. He was shocked when she returned holding two jars of blood. “Trying to make your own black pudding, are you?”
“Yeah,” he said, perhaps too eagerly. Sometimes, Wild experimented with what he could do with blood and he was getting really good at incorporating blood into cakes, but he didn’t know that regular people also consumed blood in some way.
“We got more if you decide you like it. Tourists don’t usually come back for more but they’re always willing to try it at least once. Do you want both?”
He simply nodded and paid. He quickly went into an alleyway and once he was sure he was alone, he drank both bottles as quickly as he could. It was too cold for his liking but blood was blood and he couldn’t really complain about the fact that he bought blood. From a store.
However, unlike last time, it didn’t give him a little boost. The minute he put the bottles in his bag, a wave of drowsiness washed over him so suddenly that he had to sit down in the alley for a moment. When it didn’t go away, he summoned his fangs and shoved his hand into his mouth, biting down on it hard enough to draw blood. Thankfully, the pain was enough to jolt him awake and he retracted them as he hopped back to his feet. The fruit could wait afterall. He had to get back to the inn so that he didn’t stress out War and ruin the progress he made.
By the time he got back to the inn and up to their room, he could barely keep his eyes open anymore. Warriors closed the door behind him and collapsed into his bed. He didn’t get his head on the pillow, his boots were still on, and his broken arm was trapped under his body but he didn’t have enough energy to care anymore. As soon as his body hit the bed, he was out.