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The group was currently in Wild's world. Truth be told, they were pretty relaxed; they hadn't encountered many monsters so far. However, it was quite hot, so after a while of walking, they decided to stop by a small lake to cool off.
Or well, that was the idea.
Because some of them, upon seeing the water, decided it was a great time to take a proper bath. It took Wild exactly twenty seconds to strip off all his clothes, strip down to his underwear, and dive straight into the water for a swim.
"Hey!" Warriors yelled when Wild jumped, as the splash got him completely soaked. "Be more careful!" he continued complaining while wringing out his tunic a bit.
Seeing the scene, Wind didn't take long to follow him into the lake, deciding to dive right in too. Even with his clothes on, he didn't care; that was half the fun of going for a swim! "Ah... this feels so good!!" he exclaimed happily. The water always felt amazing!
Twilight glanced sideways at Time, wanting to observe his reaction. Seeing him calm, his shoulders relaxed significantly. "I guess a quick swim wouldn't hurt." And truthfully, he did want to cool off, so he took off some of his armor and waded into the water a bit more calmly, not like those two savages in the background.
Gradually, everyone was cooling off in the lake water in some way. Time sat on the shore, letting his legs cool down. Even Warriors was taking advantage of the water to beat the heat a bit.
Of course, except a few.
Legend, Hyrule, and Four. The three were sitting quietly on the shore.
"Come on in! The water is great!" Wind encouraged them, swimming around happily.
Legend let out a small groan. "No thanks, I don't feel like digging out my Zora flippers right now." The veteran's inventory was... somewhat extensive, so to speak, and having to dig around for his flippers among all that stuff wasn't something he really wanted to do. Just the thought of rummaging around and then having to walk with those things on was a hassle.
At that comment, Warriors looked at him with a smirk. "Oh? Is it that the great legendary hero doesn't know how to swim?" Warriors teased.
Legend just gave him a side-eye. "Well no” He paused, looking at him annoyed. “Of course I don’t. In my world, the water is infested with River Zoras. My uncle never taught me to swim because no one wants to go near the water with those things around”he said, closing his eyes and lying back on the grass, visibly relaxed.
"What about you two? You don't know how to swim either?" Twilight asked, looking at Hyrule and Four.
Four, for his part, looked at Legend and Hyrule. Then he looked at the rest of the group who were swimming. "Truth is, I don't know how to swim, but..." He dug into his bag for his flippers; he didn't have as much stuff as the veteran, so it didn't take him long to find them. "It is really hot for a swim." So he carefully took off his Pegasus Boots and put on his flippers. In a rather funny (and cute) way, he waddled to the water and dove right in, splashing Legend and Hyrule in the process.
"Hey!" Hyrule exclaimed with a giggle. Truthfully, the water felt really good. But he didn't know how to swim and he didn't have any of those things like Legend and Four to be able to swim. So he had to stay on the shore.
"You're a traitor!" Legend complained jokingly to Four. Four, in response, splashed them both. "Why you...!" Legend jumped up from where he was lying. He wasn't going to let this slide. So, he rushed over to his own bag, searching his inventory for his own Zora flippers.
"Ooh, watch out little guy, the veteran has it out for you” Twilight said with a smile, watching him rummage through his bag.
Sky let out a soft laugh. "Legend, calm down! It's just water!" he said, trying to pacify him a bit.
When Legend finally found his flippers, he quickly took off his Pegasus Boots and slipped them onto his feet. It took him no time at all to dive headfirst into the water and go after Four. "Get back here!" he said with a grin, swimming after him while Four could be heard trying to flee through his laughter.
It was a pretty cute scene, everyone laughing in the water. Everyone, of course, except Hyrule, who was still on the shore.
Time looked at him with those eyes. "Aren't you going to get in?" he asked calmly.
Hyrule just shook his head with a smile. "I don't have those flippers to be able to swim, so even if I wanted to get in, I'd drown." But it was okay; seeing everyone like this, happy, brought him immense joy.
Hearing Hyrule, Time smiled warmly and shifted slightly from where he was sitting, motioning for the younger hero to sit next to him. "At least cool your legs off, it's hot out. Nothing's going to happen to you here."
Hearing the invitation, Hyrule grew nervous. In his world, any contact with water, no matter how minimal, meant that some Zora was lurking. Not to mention if the water got even slightly deep. But... he could trust Time, right? He would never trick him. Besides, seeing the others' laughter and joy reassured him a lot.
So, he ended up rolling up his pants a bit and taking off his boots to cool off. As soon as his legs touched the water, he let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding. "It really... feels very nice” he said, sounding very calm and happy, immediately relaxing at the sensation of the cold water.
However, not everything would be peace and tranquility. Someone else was listening to the conversation from afar.
"Nonsense!" a cheerful voice exclaimed. It was Wind, who had swum over to the shallower area. "You can't come to such an amazing lake and just stay on the edge!"
"Huh?" Hyrule asked in confusion, keeping his smile. "Is there something wrong... with the shore?" he asked, feeling a bit embarrassed. He wasn't doing anything wrong, right? He was just cooling off with Time...
"No, no!" Wind quickly blurted out, seeing Hyrule's confused expression. "It's just that the water is meant for cooling off. Y’know, fully!!”
"Wind is right” Twilight chimed in. The rancher waded through the water until he stood in front of him; the water barely reached his waist there. "The lake is very calm here, there are no strong currents or monsters. If you want, I can teach you the basics. At least how to float."
Hyrule blinked, surprised by the offer. He looked at the crystal-clear water and then at Twilight, who was extending a hand with a patient and encouraging smile.
"Float...?" muttered the brunette hero. "Without flippers or magic?" Hyrule didn't know that could be done. Not that he had seen many people get into the water in his entire life in his world.
"It's really easy!" Wind interrupted, leaning back to float on his back and demonstrate, laying face up on the surface. "You just have to relax and trust. And if you sink, Twilight is tall and strong enough to fish you out before you even realize it!" Wind encouraged him with a smile, returning to a normal standing position.
Time nodded from his spot, giving him a gentle verbal nudge. "Go with them. It will do you good."
Encouraged by his companions and thanks to Time's push, Hyrule carefully took off his tunic, leaving it next to Twilight's armor, and took a step further into the deep. The soft mud under his bare feet felt quite strange, but it was a pleasant sensation. As the water rose past his knees and then his thighs, a slight nervousness invaded him, but Twilight's firm hand grabbed his arm instantly.
"Easy. I've got you," Twilight assured him with that deep, protective voice that conveyed so much peace. "Just fall backward slowly. I'll support your back."
Hyrule took a deep breath and, fully trusting his 'big brother', leaned back. At first, he tensed up from head to toe, expecting the inevitable moment when he would sink like a stone, but Twilight's large hand kept him afloat. Little by little, feeling how the coolness of the water supported his weight, Hyrule relaxed his muscles.
He looked up, seeing the clear blue sky of Wild's world. The sound of the water gently splashing, the laughter of Legend and Four fighting in the distance, Warriors' theatrical complaints because someone had splashed his hair again... It all formed a perfect melody. Hyrule felt genuinely at peace.
"See? You're doing great," Twilight whispered with a proud smile, moving his hand away just a few inches so Hyrule could experience the buoyancy for himself.
When Hyrule realized that Twilight's hand was no longer carefully supporting his body underneath him, he couldn't help but laugh, a genuine laugh of pure wonder. "I'm floating! Guys, I'm really floating!" he exclaimed happily; he had learned to float!
"Way to go, 'Rule!" Twilight cheered, incredibly proud of him.
"That's the spirit!" Wind celebrated, splashing happily around him.
Even from the shore, Time's single visible eye softened with pure tenderness seeing the young hero finally enjoying himself as he deserved. Perhaps Hyrule's world had been harsh and lonely, but here, surrounded by them, he could finally afford the simple luxury of just being a boy learning to swim on a summer afternoon.
At least, until a huge block of ice emerged out of nowhere a couple of meters from them, courtesy of Wild's Sheikah Slate.
"Look guys, I made a diving board!" Wild shouted, jumping onto the ice pillar before belly-flopping into the water, creating a massive wave that completely soaked Twilight, Hyrule, and, consequently, Time on the shore.
"WILD!" Warriors roared from a distance, wiping his face for the umpteenth time.
Hyrule, far from being scared by the unexpected wave that made him swallow a bit of water, leaned on Twilight's shoulders and burst out laughing. This swim had definitely been the best idea in the world.
Twilight, for his part, brushed his wet hair out of his face and glared at Wild, though a treacherous smile tugged at his lips. "Oh, really? Ice diving boards, huh?" the Ordonian muttered, cracking his knuckles jokingly. "Come here, you savage!" And with huge strides through the water, he began chasing a wildly laughing Wild, who was trying to swim away.
Meanwhile, on the shore, silence reigned around Time. The oldest of the heroes was drenched from head to toe, with water dripping from his armor and his one visible eye.
Sky, who had miraculously escaped the wave by sitting a bit further away on his Sailcloth, gulped when he saw their leader like that. "Um... Time? Are you okay?"
Time blinked slowly, letting a final drop of water fall from his nose. He sighed deeply, resigned to his fate. "I suppose," he said with his characteristic deep but calm voice, "there's no point in doing things halfway anymore." Without another word, he began stripping off his heavy armor to wade completely into the lake, to the joy of Wind, who celebrated with a victory shout.
Hyrule looked around. At Legend and Four chasing each other, at Twilight trying to dunk Wild, at Warriors complaining about his hair, and at Time surrendering to the chaos. He leaned back in the water again, this time confidently floating all on his own. His world might be full of dangers, but in that lake, surrounded by his brothers, he felt safer than ever.
Sky swam closer to Hyrule, with a smile. “Are you having fun?” He asked, always with that kind tone of his.
Hyrule smiled at Sky, and nodded eagerly. “Yeah!”