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Wild can say for certain that he hates portals. So, so very much. For one, they separated everyone all the time. Too much. Wild’s convinced that Hylia’s playing some divine prank on them. Plus, there was the whole ‘some of the chain get so whacked off balance that they throw up and/or pass out.
So yeah. Wild hates portals. He’s sure everyone else does too.
At least they weren’t separated this time.
He rubs Hyrule’s back as they vomit into a nearby bush. Wild was barely affected. He thinks hundreds upon hundreds of times Sheikah warping has given him a sort of immunity to magic-induced nausea. The most he felt was an odd tingling in his right arm, like traces of the magic where Rauru’s arm once was.
And maybe he wasn’t affected much, but the traveler definitely is.
Hyrule chokes out the rest of their lunch and stands with heavy, labored breathing. Tear tracks cut through the dirt in their face, and they look completely exhausted. Wild handed them an ice cube and a stamina elixir, earning a small smile in return.
Glancing around, Wild can see the others picking themselves and their things off the ground. They’re in the middle of a clearing. Wild would guess it’s Autumn, if he remembers what his brothers had taught him. Because apparently, it’s not normal to have orange and red leaves all year long in one specific part of your world and there are these things called seasons with cycles or whatever.
Wild hadn’t been listening.
Wild does a double-take when he sees that Four is seemingly fine, standing up straight and not throwing up almost as badly as Hyrule. Four was sometimes even more affected than Hyrule, but they seemed alright now. Good, even.
“My era!” Four chimes, bouncing a bit on their toes. They look a lot younger, when they're excited. It reminds Wild almost of some of the kids back in Hateno or Lurelin. It always gives him a feeling of whiplash. A lot of the chain were so young when they set out, but they've accomplished so much more than him.
He was proud of his brothers.
He shakes the thought off when a new one comes to mind. Maybe Four is less affected because this is their home era. Where they’re meant to be.
He turns back to Hyrule, choosing to figure that out later.
—
It takes a few minutes, but the traveler is quickly back on their feet and ready to move, Still shaken, of course, but— sadly— they’re quite familiar with this.
Four leads them through the woods, skipping sometimes in no particular pattern, informing them that the forge is only a few hour's walk away, and they can probably make it there before sunset if they hustle!
Suddenly, Wild remembers something from earlier and jogs up to Four before he loses the thought.
"Hey, Four, what season is this?" He asks.
"Autumn," Four answers easily.
Wild grins to himself and mentally pats himself on the back. He'd got it! Turns out Twilight could be a decent teacher.
“Thanks!” He says, falling to the back of the group again.
Wild feels at peace in the forest. It’s his namesake, the wilderness. The sound of birds and leaves crunching beneath his feet, the occasional woodpecker—
It feels like home.
Wild lets his guard down a bit, losing himself in the comforting sounds with a smile on his face.
They’re around halfway through the hike when Wild starts feeling weird. He fidgets with his many belts, trying to calm his nerves.
He feels twitchy, and wrong. Something was definitely off, but he just couldn't pin it down.
He glances around and— nope. Roolie's still there. He does a quick headcount. Nine, including himself.
It doesn’t soothe his nerves.
His eyes dart around frantically searching for anything
He feels like he’s being watched.
There are noises. The slight shuffling of leaves and breaking of small twigs. Every sound has him buzzing with anxiety and sends his heart rate skyrocketing. It's probably just the Chain. They were a loud group after all, even after all these months Wild still cringed whenever one of them walked loudly.
His gut told him it wasn’t just the Chain. There's extra footsteps, an extra something or other crunching on the dead, brown leaves on the ground around them.
His hands twitch towards his Purah Pad on reflex when there’s a particularly loud rustle from the bushes, though it could very well be a small rabbit. It’s not always a monster, he reminds himself.
The noise persists for a few more paces before whatever it is that’s following them makes itself known. Wild’s skin pricks as he gets the odd sensation of something getting closer. He rakes his eyes across the treeline, where the path ended. Nothing but a sea of orange and red leaves. Wild is reminded of Akkala, for a moment and briefly wonders how Tarrey Town is.
All of a sudden, there’s a bright, loud, and happy shout of, “Rainbow!”
Wild, caught up in his thoughts, barely has time to react as a grey blur launches out of the shrubbery. There’s a shout of alarm from someone— Wild doesn’t know who— as the figure runs towards Four and throws itself onto them and—
Kisses them?
The entire group skids to a stop, watching as Four blinks in shock, crossing their eyes to see the figure in front of them, and they make a small noise of recognition. The person puts its hands on the back of Four’s head. The Chain gets ahold of themselves and almost starts towards the pair.
But Four doesn’t pull away.
Instead, they close their eyes, cup the face of the person in front of them, and lean forward the slightest bit. There’s a small smile on their face.
It’s not a very long kiss, and it’s a gentle one. After a second or maybe five, Four pulls away, grinning like a dork at the other person. The other person grins back and goes to kiss them again, but Four laughs and places a finger on the person’s lips. Their face is completely red.
The chain watches this exchange in silence. Hyrule flushes and looks away, as if it’s something so special they shouldn't be watching. In a way, Wild feels the same. There’s something about their expressions that just feels so amazing and special. The light dancing in their eyes and the easy, genuine grins on their faces.
Ah, Wild thinks distantly. This is who's been following us.
Four lurches forward to hug the person tightly, as if they’d never let go. The person’s face is revealed completely. Sharp inhales come from a few of the group, and Wild hears the sound of weapons being drawn.
Four’s friend is some sort of shadow monster. They looked similar to Four, almost enough to be considered siblings. Somehow, Wild was sure that even if they hadn’t just kissed, he wouldn’t immediately jump to ‘Oh, they’re related.’ There were a few bigger differences in facial structure. But they were clearly some sort of Four Shadow. The dark clothes and hair only justified it. And the bright red eyes.
Four whirls around frantically at the sound of weapons being drawn, a look of panic on their face. Their eyes are wide, “Wait!” They yelp, and the chain listens.
Four takes the person’s hand, squeezing it hard to quell the panic starting to show on their face, “This is my partner, Shadow,” The air seems to change, feeling suffocating despite the fact that they are outside in the middle of a clean forest. “I know,” They say quickly, “H-He’s a shadow. My shadow,” Four desperately glances towards Twilight. “I know he’s a shadow, but not all uhm, not all dark magic is bad.” Twilight stares back. His hand goes absently up to his collarbone, where his dark crystal lays.
The entire group stares. Four is reserved, calm, and collected. None of them had ever, ever seen them like this. Panicked and desperate. They’re subconsciously stepping in front of Shadow, pushing their partner behind them.
Everyone seems to be waiting to see what Twilight says. The rancher is glancing back for help, but no one does anything.
Finally, he sighs and says, “Four’s right. Not all dark magic is bad,” He smiles at Shadow. “If Four trusts him, then so do I.”
Everyone let out a breath they were holding. Four gives a shaky, relieved laugh. (It’s almost a sob) Shadow squeezes their hand reassuringly with a tiny, bright, and even mischievous smile. Almost as if to say, ‘I’m still here.’
Unsurprisingly, Wind is the first to approach the pair.
He wiggles his eyes at Four, “So, smithy. Seems like there are some things you’re not tellin’ us,” Wind drawls, smirking. Four groans and Shadow giggles, pulling them in a side hug.
It’s like a dam broke.
Suddenly, everyone is walking up and introducing themselves to Shadow, and congratulating Four. Some friendly teases are mixed in that make Four flush and apologize for not telling anyone sooner. They tell them it’s okay. Legend reminds them that he didn’t tell anyone about Ravio for 3 months.
Sky threatens Shadow, ‘You better not hurt them,’ and then happily introduces himself.
Time is rather formal at first, but makes a few jokes like, ‘You’d better not hurt my kid.’
Hyrule is a shy, stuttering mess, especially when Shadow reaches out to ruffle their hair, much to everyone’s amusement.
Twilight gives Shadow a smile and a ‘No problem!’ because ‘Four’s like a little sibling, I’d do anythin’ as long as they're happy!’ followed by, “Except for eating Rulie’s cookin’, I’m not touching that.’ Hyrule lets out an indignant squeak of, ‘Hey!’ from a few feet away.
Warriors teases and congratulates Four at the same time, introducing himself so formally with a bow and an extended arm to Shadow it’s stupid and very clearly a joke. Shadow smirks and responds with the same tone and posture, dragging Four down a bit with him in a bow, before they both fall into silent giggles. Four rolls their eyes.
Shadow and Four are still holding hands when Wild walks up to them, grinning. “Hi!” They cheer, almost sticking a hand out before deciding that one; it’s too formal. And two; they’re holding hands. It’s adorable. Wild could never disrupt that.
"Hi," Shadow greets.
There's a beat of silence before Wild says, "Your whole ‘following us’ scheme? You really put me on edge for a while." He grins easily and without any anger, and gives Shadow a mock salute.
Shadow grins back, and Wild’s sixth sense for fellow mischief causers wails.
“This’ll be fun,” Wild says.
“Yep,” Shadow agrees.
Four flicks him in the nose rather fondly.