#...minus sky

[skyward-floored]

The cat’s out of the bag - Chapter 2

Here’s chapter two! More adventures of Wind stuck as a cat.

Now with an ao3 link!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52017334/chapters/132551434#main

Chapter 1 | Next

————————————————————

Wind and Twilight traveled through the woods for a while, Wind hanging on to Twilight’s pelt the entire time.

As he walked, Twilight told Wind a little about when he’d first been transformed into a wolf, explaining the trouble he’d had adjusting to his body, and how once he’d figured it out, it wasn’t too hard. Wind listened in interest, and made a few mental notes of things to try once Twilight set him down.

But eventually Twilight stopped talking as he looked more intently for signs of the others, and Wind found his mind wandering in the quiet of the woods.

He still couldn’t believe Twilight was Wolfie. No wonder he was so touchy about being petted, and seemed so intelligent, like he could really understand it when they talked to him.

It would also explain why Wild was so close with the wolf... did that mean Wild knew Twilight was Wolfie?

Did anyone else know?

Wind let out a thoughtful little squeaky noise, resting his head on his paws.

Time probably did. It seemed like he knew everything sometimes, but aside from him... well, Legend would have to know if he’d been turned into an animal too, but that must be it. That meant three whole people had known Wolfie wasn’t just a wolf... Wind wasn’t sure quite how he felt about that.

Of course, he had some other things on his mind at the moment.

He breathed out a sigh, adjusting his grip on Twilight’s shoulder. He still felt weird, a little nauseous and achy from his transformation. He also kept forgetting he didn’t have hands, and when he went to do things like scratch his nose, he ended up hitting himself in the face with his cumbersome paws.

How was he supposed to do anything like this? Even walking was too hard at the moment, and Wind felt his tail lash as he thought of how useless he currently was.

Hopefully they would find Sky and the others and fix this before it became an even bigger problem.

The afternoon dragged on, Twilight’s steps lagging a little the longer they went. The smell of blood was still sharp in Wind’s nose (which he was discovering was way better at smelling then his regular one), and he spared a wistful thought towards the red potion he knew was sitting in his bag. All his stuff had disappeared when he’d been transformed, so there was no way to get it right now... as far as he knew.

Just one more thing to ask about when I get my voice back, he thought with a sigh. I wonder where it all went anyway? Aryll’ll be so upset if her telescope is gone...

Twilight made a small noise of pain as he brushed past a branch, and Wind went back to watching him, feeling more and more worried the longer they went. The rancher kept wincing, and Wind finally bapped his ear to get his attention.

“Hm?” Twilight said, blinking as he looked at Wind.

“Your arm is still bleeding,” Wind meowed, and when Twilight gave him a confused look, huffed in annoyance. Right. No talking. Argh.

Twilight had wrapped a few bandages around his arm, but they’d begun to stain, red seeping through. Wind wasn’t sure how bad the injury was, but he wasn’t keen on having Twilight collapse from blood loss or anything.

I won’t be able to help him at all if he does.

Wind quickly chased away that thought, and instead of trying to communicate through further meows, got to his feet and moved around Twilight’s shoulder, gesturing clumsily with a paw at the blood on the rancher’s arm.

“It’s fine Wind, it looks worse then it is,” Twilight assured when he figured out what he was doing.

Wind twitched his tail. I don’t believe that for a second.

To prove his point, he abruptly jabbed at Twilight’s hurt arm, and the rancher yelped, jerking his arm so hard Wind was nearly flung off. He only managed to hang on by extending his claws and clinging to Twilight’s pelt, and gave him a flat look as Twilight tried to smooth his expression of pain.

“Okay okay, so it’s not just a little scrape. It still isn’t that bad,” Twilight grumbled, helping Wind settle back onto his unhurt shoulder. “But I can’t do anything more about it, Sailor. We’re just going to have to wait until we’re with the others again.”

Wind let out a little grumbly growl, but he knew Twilight was right.

That didn’t mean he liked it, though.

They continued through the woods in silence, Twilight only speaking up on occasion. They both perked up when he found what looked like boot prints, hopefully a sign of the others, and Wind paid more attention to his surroundings after that.

His senses were sharper then normal, which had been totally overwhelming at first, but he was starting to get used to the sounds and scents of the forest. Wind could hear birds flying overhead from much further away then normal, and smell all kinds of things.

Along with the blood and wolf smell on Twilight, Wind could sniff out the sap from the pine trees they walked by, and various animals that had passed by the trail they were following, along with a faint whiff of the sea all at the same time.

It was pretty weird.

Wind kept himself amused by trying to figure out what all the different smells were, his nose stuck in the air. He als tried to make out some of the more unusual noises he heard, and Twilight looked at him more then once with a smile on his face, like he knew what he was doing.

Wind just wished he could ask him for advice.

It wasn’t until the sun was nearly set when a new noise filtered through the trees, and Wind sat up, swiveling his ears around as he listened. It hadn’t been the same birdcalls he’d been hearing as they walked, or the rustling of leaves in the wind...

He strained his ears a little more, and perked up as he finally recognized it.

That had sounded like talking!

Twilight heard it only a moment later, and he smiled over at Wind, speeding his steps towards the noises. They grew louder and louder, and as Twilight pushed through the bushes, the other Links came into view, talking around a half-set up campsite.

Wind ducked down a little on Twilight’s shoulder (in respect for him wanting to keep Wolfie a secret), and began looking around for Sky.

“Rancher!” Wild called out when he noticed him, and the other heroes paused in their discussion to give him relieved looks, several eyes drawn to his bloodied arm. Warriors stepped over when he saw it, and immediately began fishing in his bag, relief and worry equal on his face.

“Glad to see you’re alright Rancher, we were worried,” Four said as he set down some firewood, and Wind ducked even lower as he walked by. Where was Sky?

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked as he stepped closer to Warriors, and Wind looked around at the heroes as some of them resumed their discussion, their loud talking sounding more like an argument to him. It was mostly making his ears hurt.

“We can’t find Sky or Wind,” Warriors replied as he continued to dig in his bag. His voice was grim, and Wind thought he looked a little frazzled. “They must have been separated from us somehow, I don’t know where they are. But what worries me most is that they’re the only ones we haven’t found. Apart from you Rancher, we all came out in the same area.”

“That’s strange,” Twilight replied, his brow creasing. “Sky isn’t with you all?”

A wave of dread swamped over Wind. Oh no.

“Nope. Haven’t seen him since we came through the portal. He probably fell asleep somewhere,” Legend drawled, but his voice held a fair amount of concern in it.

“Have you seen Wind?” Four asked Twilight, and then his gaze caught on the cat sitting on his shoulder.

His eyes went wide, color shimmering off of them, and Wild seemed to notice the cat at the same moment the smithy did, his eyebrows shooting up.

“Twilight is that a cat?” the champion asked loudly, and Twilight cringed as the argument stopped, everyone staring over at where Wind was sitting primly on his unhurt shoulder.

Four and Time exchanged looks, Time’s eye narrowing in a calculating way, and Wind heard Twilight swallow.

“I...”

He trailed off, and Wind moved closer to his head, giving him a gentle nudge. It’s okay Twi.

Twilight let out a sigh, his face turning to one of resignation.

“...Yeah, it is. I... guess the cat’s out of the bag,” he mumbled, and Wind twitched his whiskers at the phrase. Seriously Twilight? “This... is our sailor.”

The clearing was suddenly very quiet.

“...You’re kidding,” Legend groaned after a solid minute of silence, putting his head in his hands. “Rancher you’ve got to be more careful with that stupid necklace.”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Twilight said indignantly, and the clearing broke into confused questions while Wind gave Legend a look, sticking his tongue out. That’s right it wasn’t! Well... not really. “It was an accident, veteran.”

“But... how?” Warriors asked, looking between Wind and Twilight with an expression of alarm. He’d found a potion bottle, but seemed to have forgotten about it as he stared between them. “He can’t have— really? Is this a joke?”

“Oh it’s no joke,” Four said with a quirked eyebrow.

Wind eyed the smithy curiously. Maybe Wild, Time, and Legend aren’t the only ones who knew about Wolfie after all.

Twilight sighed. “Captain, it’s complicated, and I promise I’ll explain, but long story short... we need the Master Sword to fix him.”

Warriors looked even more alarmed. “What? Why do you need the Master Sword? Is he cursed?”

“...Sort of?”

“Sort of?!”

“Okay, yes, it’s sort of a curse, but it’s easily fixed,” Twilight reassured.

“He’s right. Relax Captain, we just need the sword and he’ll be good to go,” Legend spoke up again, and though Warriors still looked worried, he calmed down somewhat.

“Erm, one problem with that... Sky has the Master Sword with him,” Hyrule piped up, and the confused questions and chatter died down a bit.

“Oh. Well that does put a wrench in things,” Wild said.

Wind meowed quietly in agreement.

All of them turned to stare at Wind at the noise, and the sailor squirmed a little at the scrutiny. He could feel their eyes on him, looking at his fur and whiskers and everything, and he sank down a little in Twilight’s pelt.

“Sailor, are you okay?” Warriors asked as he stepped forward, studying Wind with a worried look.

Wind let out a meow in reply, and without really thinking, gave Warriors’ outstretched hand a lick. The captain blinked in surprise, and Wind had just enough time to wonder why exactly he’d done that, before Warriors smiled, giving Wind a small scratch behind the ears.

Ooh... that felt nice.

Wind leaned into the touch, a rumbly noise rising in his chest, then blinked, and shook himself as he realized what he was doing.

For Jabun’s sake, he wasn’t actually a cat!

“You’re really okay, kiddo?” Warriors asked seriously, and Wind nodded, still enjoying the feel of his fingers gently running over his fur. He was feeling better now that he was back with the others, even if he was embarrassed to be... well, a cat.

I was already the youngest, and now I’m the smallest too, Wind thought as Warriors removed his hand, feeling glum. Even a miniblin would give me trouble like this, no less something like a kargaroc. I’m toast if we go into battle...

“So a cat, huh... that’s interesting,” Four said thoughtfully.

“You’re awfully fluffy,” Hyrule said, peering at Wind.

“Wow, yeah,” Wild said, putting his face right up by Wind’s. Wind had the sudden urge to bat at the hair coming lose from his ponytail. “Are all cats this fluffy?”

“Yes Wild, they are,” Twilight said, his voice sounding a little strained, and Time came over and pushed him gently down to sit on a log.

“Alright, let’s slow down a bit. I believe a further explanation would be helpful, but Twilight’s arm could use a potion first.” Time took the bottle from Warriors and handed it to Twilight as he spoke. “Sailor, are you hurt at all?”

Wind let out a thoughtful little chirp, and looked back at himself. He was reminded again of the handful of cuts he’d gotten during the fight on the cliff as he looked at his fur, but there wasn’t anything serious. He mostly felt sore from being knocked through the portal, and then being forcibly turned into a cat.

He couldn’t easily communicate any of this though, and looked a bit helplessly at Twilight.

“I think he has a couple scrapes, but nothing bad,” Twilight answered for him, having done his own look-over. Then the rancher leaned closer to Time, continuing in a lower voice that Wind almost missed. “All that magic hit him hard though. He can’t have a potion in this form, but... getting something warm in his stomach would be good for him.”

Wind narrowed his eyes, but didn’t protest as Time looked him over, his eye studying the few cuts he had.

Sympathy shone on Time’s face as he looked at Wind’s changed form, and he ran a gentle finger over his head before drawing back and asking Wild if dinner was ready. Wild nodded, and while Twilight drank his potion, Time poured a bit of the soup Wild had been letting simmer into a dish, and set it down on Twilight’s lap.

“Let’s have dinner,” Time said, sitting down beside Twilight. “Finding Sky is our priority, but empty stomachs are a more immediate problem.”

Nobody had any objections to Time’s suggestion, and anyone standing sat down. Wind had a feeling they were having dinner mostly for his and Twilight’s sakes, but Twilight definitely needed a break based on how pale his face was, so he didn’t complain.

The tantalizing smell of soup wafted through the clearing, and Wind suddenly realized he was rather hungry. His stomach let out a quiet growl, and Wind carefully shimmied down Twilight’s arm, still really not used to dealing with his paws and tail. But he managed to land without incident, and settled onto his lap next to the dish Time had gotten for him.

It took him another several minutes to figure out how to lap up the soup with his tongue though, and even then he still got some on his face. Everyone’s eyes were on him as Wild began passing out soup, and Wind felt his face grow hot, even though he was sure cats couldn’t blush.

Did they have to stare?

He shot a withering look around camp, and everybody seemed to get the hint, looking at their own food instead of his.

Wind quickly lapped up the rest of the soup while nobody was watching, caring less about being messy and just wanting to finish. It didn’t take him long to empty the dish, and he leaned back, licking his chops.

The soup had left a warm feeling in his middle, and Wind felt a lot better now that he’d eaten. So what if he had trouble with getting his tongue to work the way it was supposed to, and had bits of soup on his whiskers? It had been delicious.

Wind let out a breathy little sigh. Now if only I wasn’t still a cat...

“So Twilight, what exactly happened to you and Wind?” Warriors asked as they all ate, tone light, but still a bit suspicious.

“I don’t know all of what happened to Wind, but I can tell you what happened after I fell through the portal,” Twilight said. There was a flicker of something uneasy on his face, but he quickly smoothed it over, and Wind blinked.

He’s still nervous about Wolfie I bet... Is he going to explain about that, or make something up? he wondered, watching Twilight set down his empty dish. I wouldn’t blame him if he did. But then again, if I’m right about Four, then Hyrule and Warriors are the only ones who don’t know he’s Wolfie. It would be weird not to explain...

Twilight began to speak about the battle, and Wind settled a bit more comfortably on his lap, unable to stop himself from yawning.

He’d been planning to try walking around some more, and practice getting his paws to work right, but he was full of soup, and warm, and feeling awfully tired again, and decided just sitting and listening wouldn’t be so bad.

Besides, Sky might show up any minute, and then I won’t need to practice.

Twilight’s soft voice made little vibrations go through Wind’s paws as he spoke, his voice rumbling a little in his chest. The sound was oddly soothing, and Wind felt his eyes start to droop.

He valiantly tried to stay awake, but the exhaustion and tiredness in his bones he’d been trying to ignore suddenly reminded him of their existence full-force. Another yawn escaped him, his teeth glinting as he stretched his jaws, and Wind tucked his paws under himself, nestling his tail around him.

Someone’s hand patted his fur, and Wind sighed, tucking his face under his tail.

They would figure this all out, he was sure. Sky would show up with the Master Sword, or they’d go find him, and Wind would be back to normal in no time at all.

...He hoped.

He really, really hoped.

[noodlebox-bird]

Buddy Heroes 😏👍

og

[csidepooltide]

Welcome friends, sky fans, and people who have NO idea who I am! Let me introduce you to my open characters...

Everything included under the cut!

Disclaimer, this is just a general overview. I couldn't possibly include everything or show everything! Believe me, I tried. Thrice. This is why it took me two years.

If you have any questions, don't feel afraid to send me an ask or dm!

And if you make a starkid of your own, please please PLEASE tag me!! I would love to see!!!!! :)

See you in the sky!

[emig22]

I've been having fun figuring out my art style recently so I tried drawing the chain :). Minus Hyrule cuz his hair makes my brain melt. Plus Spirit because I'm biased. Also sorry for butchering four's face. I swear there I have drawn a better four prior. Also Sky looks like haku...

[nanihirunkits]

I did what your mom told me to do. But deep down, I kept hoping I’d run into you somewhere. That’s why I kept stopping by places you liked to go, but I never saw you.

HIGH SCHOOL FRENEMY | EP12

[solasfenheral]

vg is a game that should be saturated in religion and faith and politics and yet - (I am yanked off stage by a comically large cane)

[tagarilaghost]

What does everyone else think of Krako's pursuits to try and get through to Darkrai and make him change his ways?

Let's say they're not really thrilled about Krako's decisions.

[krems-chair]

When I was sixteen, I worked at Walgreens and had this manager that was nice enough even though she was definitely unhinged, but I wasn't in the Inner Circle being a little cashier grunt and all so I'd only get trickle down info about how her and her absolutely cursed boyfriend who was in and around the store a lot were doing and anyways, I'm just desperately trying to imagine an Inquisition foot soldier who was always in and around Skyhold but never close enough to the intricacies of the core group finding out that their manager finally made it work with that weird guy who was always lurking about ten years later and being like "wait really? That guy?"

[rainy-day-revelry]

Absolutely adoring how the chain seems to have assigned big brother little brother pairings for all of the minors:

Legend who is making sure Hyrule doesn’t overuse his magic and exhaust himself

Warriors who is constantly scruffing Wind to make sure he doesn’t do something stupid

And Twilight who is trying to stop Wild from yeeting himself off the nearest cliff and failing miserably

Peak sibling behavior

[dramalets]

2025 Watch List part 1

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Meet me outside - Lovely little quick watch from the Philippines. Six episodes all under fifteen minutes, packs a sweet little love story into a small space. 3/5 (1/1/25)

Just Friends? - A very early one from Korea. This is from a queer director and you can strongly feel that vibe. I liked this a lot and thought it was realistic but never, as Korean queer stuff often is, particularly depressing. The leads are massive actors now and it’s clear even from here why that is. 4/5 (I actually finished this before Xmas)

Plus & Minus - Mostly fine. The leads were cute and the side couple a little dull. The last few episodes of this are poopoo bananas and pulled this down from a 4 to a 3. You could happily skip episodes 10 & 11 and go 9 - 12 instead. 3/5 (7/1/25)

See Your Love - Delightful. Leads were extremely charming with great chemistry. Personally I liked that this didn’t lean too much into the dramatic. Didn’t enjoy the needless female s/an and, overall, the two female characters felt a bit redundant. But overall I loved it. 4/5 (8/1/25)

Exclusive Fairytale - On its surface this is a very typical youth cdrama and is that but it also had more under its belt. The cast chemistry was great, it didn’t rely on having a big idol name as its lead and it tied everyone’s stories in a satisfying way. There was also a little more adult humour than I was really expecting. 4/5 (12/1/25)

The Trauma Code - I’m afraid this was made for me. As a love of OTT medical procedural shows this had everything I needed. Excellently good fun from start to finish. Would have been a five but knocked a point because it just wasn’t long enough/the episodes weren’t long enough to allow for real character depth. 4/5 (24/1/25)

Fourever You Project - I enjoyed this a lot but it also had potential to be more than it was. It was obvious the second couple needed more time and I also think more attention should have been paid to the chemistry between Pond & Earth as, especially in comparison with the 2nd couple, it was weak. 3/5 (26/1/25)

The Heart Killers - Show was an up and down one for me. I enjoyed the ride but I found it quite holey and quite a typical Jojo ‘my ideas were too big for the scale I had’ ending. The character work was strong and the acting was excellent all round. I just needed some polyfill for the holes. 3 ½/5 (12/2/25)

Your Sky - It wasn’t my sort of drama,so it was never going to bowl me over, but it gets a solid 3/5. The cast was charming and the story meandered less than I expected it might. It was still a bit over long in some places and too short in others though. Not one I’ll rewatch but enjoyable. It suffered the same thing that I hate about cutie pie; too many characters that never get developed well. If you’re giving me friendships then I want friendships. Not hollow things just there to show off sub pairings you’re trying to promote. 3/5 (20/2/25)

Jack & Joker - I finished this a while ago and I’ve been torn on how to rate it/what to write about it. I enjoyed a lot of this but the balance of this show was entirely off. The tone varied too wildly, for me, for it to ever be a truly quality watch. Yin and War seem to have this idea that misery, shock and pain make a show more important or a better quality and that just isn’t true. You could cut out 90% of the trauma from this show and it would be better. So, yea, I still don’t really know how to rate this because it’s not bad, it’s inarguably a well made show and it’s a huge thing that Yin & War fought to make what they wanted to make. But the tone was too all over and this is something I will never rewatch. 2/5 (18/2/25)

FC Sold Out - A short, low budget KBL that was consistently well acted and enjoyable every week. Not complex in any respect, a little rushed from only having eight short episodes but a great little show and would make a good binge. 3 ½/5 (7/3/25)

Gelboys - Just delicious. Enjoyable from start to finish and did teenage stupidity and angst better than anything else I’ve watched. There really was nothing I’d have changed about this. All the characters felt realistic and were genuinely interesting and unique. 5/5 (22/3/25)

Perfect 10 Liners - Honestly this was made for me. I love ensembles, I’m a P’New defender and I enjoy all the main pairings. Each story here was different and I enjoyed them all for different reasons. Arc & Arm was the weaker one for me but it really picked up from there. Faifa & Wine were my favourites, JuniorMark did some stunning work honestly, but I was also delighted by Yotha & Gun. (I’m so happy to have Santa back.) 4/5 (6/4/25)

[heliosphere-underthesky]

Ko-fi commission. Thank you very much for the support! ☕️💖

🌸 Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/meii_jasmine

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

So this happened...

My friend @mirathecat commissioned me to draw Uranus having a genuine smile for once, and I just realised I've never drew him with one yet! This was both delightful and bittersweet to draw. He deserves happiness 🥹🩵

[skyward-floored]

The cat’s out of the bag chapter 4

More kitty wind yet again! Starting to get into real plot now :)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52017334/chapters/141645076

Chapter 3 | Next

————————————————————

Once Wind and Twilight returned from the woods, the Links finally got moving, heading in the direction Wild had pointed out.

Wind felt his bad mood fade as they walked along, the pine trees giving way fully to birch, more sunlight visible with their thinner branches. It really was a nice day, and though he was still annoyed at Twilight, Wind felt much happier as he trotted along with the rest of the heroes.

He wished they’d take smaller steps though. Keeping up with anyone but Four was exhausting.

Wind confidently raised his head whenever someone looked back at him though, intent on appearing steady. He could keep up perfectly fine, he wasn’t going to slow down the group.

Sky might need them.

Wind spent a while focusing intently on keeping up, not tripping on any roots or rocks that the heroes walked over, and staying in the center of the group where he’d ended up, trotting near Wild’s heels. It wasn’t obvious at first, but Wind eventually realized that the others had moved to walk a little closer to where he was, generally keeping him company as he padded along.

Wind was suspicious, but he didn’t mind too much.

...Even if it felt a little like they were keeping him from wandering off.

“So... I have to admit, I’ve never really seen a cat before,” Wild said after a long period of silence, looking down at Wind.

“Really? Never?” Legend asked from beside him, and Wild shrugged.

“I’ve only seen one or two,” Time added from nearby. “They’re just not very common in some places, it seems.”

“Yeah. I’ve never seen them except in Twi’s world. I didn’t even know they were a thing until then,” Wild said.

“They are, believe me,” Four said a little grimly, shaking his head and making his earring sway. “Cats can be... a bit on the vicious side, in my experience.”

“Really?” Wild asked in interest, and Wind perked his ears, curious. Four rolled up his sleeve when everyone looked at him, and Wind had to crane his neck to see him show off a large circular scar near his elbow, one that looked like it came from a large tooth.

“Really.”

“How big are the cats in your time?!” Twilight asked in shock as he stared at Four’s arm, eyes wide with disbelief.

Four pulled his sleeve down, and smiled for some reason. “Depends who you ask. Most folks I know would say ‘huge’.”

“I fought a huge cat once,” Legend hummed, idly rubbing his shoulder. “It could curl into a spiked ball and had fangs as long as my forearm.”

“Aw Vet, you have all the fun.”

Wind felt at his teeth with his tongue while the conversation continued on, feeling a pang of disappointment. How come I didn’t get fangs as long as Legend’s forearm?

I seriously got the short end of the stick with this form...

Something ran along Wind’s head, snapping him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Legend had stopped walking and kneeled down to pet him.

“Holy crap Champ you weren’t kidding, he’s so fluffy,” Legend said in delighted astonishment, and Wind twitched his tail, not quite sure if he appreciated the petting (even though it... did feel kinda nice).

“Er, can I..?” Hyrule asked, and Wind nodded, letting Hyrule run a few fingers along his back. “Wow, you’re really soft.”

“He’s a cute one alright,” Twilight said with a smile from a few paces away, and Wind gave him a foul look, still a bit grumpy from earlier.

Twilight’s smile faltered and he looked away as a curl of guilt twisted through Wind. It was quickly interrupted by someone scratching him behind the ears though, and Wind relaxed at the feel of it, his grumpy thoughts fleeing. He leaned into the touch as a purr escaped his throat, and heard someone laugh.

Okay, the petting was pretty nice.

“Hey, we’ve got Sky and a dark lizard to find, you can pet Wind later,” Warriors called from a good distance in front of them, and Wind heard at least two awws as the petting stopped, and they quickly resumed walking.

The group began moving closer to their normal pace, and Wind had to scurry to keep up, his legs beginning to ache at the unfamiliar motions and muscles he was using. He ignored it though, and kept going, purposely walking extra fast when Twilight glanced back to check on him.

He had to get used to walking more with the others when they’d first met anyway, this was just like that. The only difference was he didn’t have shoes to get blisters from now.

Though I guess my paws could get blisters anyway... but there’s nothing rubbing them, so hopefully not. I guess cats can’t really wear shoes, huh. Though maybe they could? You’d have to get some that were the right size though. I wonder if Twilight’s ever seen a cat with shoes?

...His Hyrule is definitely weird enough for people to do that for their pets...

Wind was so caught up in his thoughts of blisters and cat shoes that he forgot to pay as close attention to where he walking, gradually veering away from the others.

And he might not have noticed for a long while, but for the fact that his next step dropped right out from under him.

Wind let out a surprised yowl as he suddenly fell down a sharp incline, scrambling to regain his footing. He didn’t succeed though, and heard a shout behind him as he slid, tumbling down the slope and wincing as he hit a few rocks.

Wind finally rolled to a stop at the bottom, a little dizzy from all the spinning he’d just done, and shook his head, a puff of dust billowing out from his fur.

“Sailor! Are you alright?!”

Wind meowed back a somewhat dazed affirmative, getting to his feet and making sure he wasn’t actually hurt. He felt more sore then before, but he was overall not too worse for wear.

Maybe cat shoes wouldn’t be a bad idea after all, he thought dizzily, sitting back down.

Footsteps approached, and Wind looked up as the rest of the Links came down the slope, barely even an obstacle for them due to their sizes. Legend reached Wind first and kneeled beside him, giving him a quick look over before brushing some dirt off his head.

“Good grief sailor, don’t do that,” he sighed, and Wind curled his tail around himself, sure he’d be blushing if he was physically capable of it. It wasn’t on purpose!

“You’re okay?” Twilight asked next, his eyes wide and face creased with anxiety, and Wind nodded, looking at his paws.

He couldn’t believe he’d tripped. Now Twilight and the others probably wouldn’t let him walk anymore today, if at all, and he’d have to let them carry him around like some sort of useless fluffy pillow—

“Hey, look at what Wind found!”

Wind looked down at where Wild was pointing, and saw that he’d landed in what must have been a dried-up creek bed, dust and scraggly weeds in the bottom.

With a handful of bootprints clearly visible in the dirt right beside his tail.

“Those aren’t from us,” Hyrule said as he kneeled down to look at them. “You think..?”

“They might be Sky’s,” Four finished, and Wind felt hope flicker to life in his chest as they all studied the marks in the dirt. Maybe tripping down here wasn’t so bad after all!

“They look about the right size...” Warriors said thoughtfully.

“Who else would even be out in the middle of the woods like us? It’s got to be him!” Wild declared, then cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. “HEY SKY! YELL IF YOU CAN HEAR ME!”

Wind tilted his head and pricked his ears, but there was no response to Wild’s shout.

“Guess he can’t,” Legend said flatly, rubbing his ear.

“Maybe Wind can tell if they’re Sky’s prints or not,” Twilight said, much to Wind’s surprise, and kneeled down next to him. “Cats have good noses. Can you see if you can make out Sky’s scent?”

Wind blinked, and gave a sort of shrug, looking at the prints.

“Maybe?” he meowed, well aware Twilight had no clue what he’d said. But Twilight must have caught on to his uncertainty, and he hummed, putting a hand on his chin.

“Right, you’ve been a cat for less then a day... uh... try to think about Sky, and what he smells like,” Twilight instructed. “Once you’ve got that in your head, take in all the smells around you, and filter out the ones you know aren’t right, like the dirt and grass. Breathe deep. Focus.”

Wind nodded, missing the look Warriors gave Twilight, and began to sniff around the prints, closing his eyes in order to focus better. That all didn’t sound too hard.

The first thing Wind could smell was the dirt, a little damp and earthy. Next to that he could smell grass, fresh and green, and a few small flowers, along with the still-present whiff of the ocean in the distance. There was another smell aside from those though, one more complicated.

This one had some perfumed notes like the flowers, and hints of a smell kind of like the trees nearby... wood maybe? But there was also something sharp, like the sea before a storm. It matched the scent Wind had pictured for Sky, and he focused in on it, tail going up in excitement.

Looked like these were Sky’s prints!

“You got it?” Twilight asked, and Wind meowed an affirmative, trying to find where Sky’s scent was strongest. It was hard to just focus on one scent, but Wind did his best.

Twilight followed around behind him as he sniffed along, and the other Links remained mostly quiet while he worked, watching to see what would happen. Wind’s aching body and feet got swept to the back of his mind while he followed the scent, intent on what he was doing, and he diligently followed his nose.

Come on Sky, please be here somewhere...

Wind abruptly stopped as the smell he’d been following got interrupted, another smell overtaking it. It was much more pungent than Sky’s scent, and Wind wrinkled his muzzle as it invaded his nose. He twitched his tail and sniffed harder, trying to find where the first smell had gone, but only finding more of the new musky scent.

Then Wind stopped, looking down at the large clawed footprint he’d just stepped in.

“Monsters,” Twilight said as he studied the mark, tapping a hand on his chin. “But no more sign of Sky?”

Wind meowed in the negative, and lightly bapped Twilight’s hand, guiding him over to another bootprint he’d just noticed next to the clawed mark. It was joined by several others, and they trailed off deeper into the woods alongside the clawed prints.

The others gathered around, and they looked at the marks in silence for a moment, faces worried.

“So Sky... and monsters,” Hyrule frowned, and Twilight nodded.

“Looks like it.”

“But was Sky following the monsters? Or were they following him?” Warriors mused. “Could you tell which scent was stronger, Wind?”

Wind gave another sort-of shrug, looking back at the prints. The monster smell was stronger than Sky’s, but he couldn’t tell if that was because of what it was, or if it just really was more recent.

Wolfie would be able to tell, he thought gloomily.

“It looks like he might’ve been in a hurry, these are pretty well spaced out,” Legend said, studying the further away tracks.

“So Sky was traveling quickly, either following monsters, or trying to get away from them,” Time surmised, his knees cracking as he lowered himself to look. “Good job Sailor,” he said as he ran a light hand over Wind’s head. Wind let out a happy purr at the motion, the compliment warming him. “This should help greatly with finding our missing knight of Skyloft.”

“So long as something else doesn’t find him first,” Warriors said grimly, and he straightened, everyone looking out at where the footprints led.

Somehow the forest ahead seemed a lot less pleasant to Wind.

“Come on. The sooner we find Sky and what’s leaving these tracks, the better,” Legend said with a frown.

The group quickly set off again, and the triumph from finding the tracks faded as Wind was sharply reminded of his sore body. The short break he’d gotten hadn’t helped much, and his legs were heavy and aching, the rest of him sore from his tumblr. The pads on his feet stung with every step, tiny rocks and dirt finding their way in between his toes, but Wind stubbornly ignored the ache.

Sky might be in trouble, and that mattered way more than sore feet, or aching paws, or even Wind’s annoyance at being a cat.

Sore paws weren’t going to stop him.

Despite his determination to keep up, Wind gradually drifted farther and farther behind the other Links, his feet dragging the longer they went. Everyone was moving much faster than before, and Sky’s tracks meandered up and down hills and over rocks and past all sorts of spots that were hard for an already-tired cat to follow.

And unfortunately for Wind, it wasn’t much longer before Twilight noticed his dragging paws and drooping whiskers.

Wind felt himself get scooped into the air for the second time today, and he mewed, frowning tiredly up at Twilight and ignoring how much better he felt not being on his paws anymore.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I said you could walk as long as you told us when you got tired, and you’re barely even walking straight,” Twilight said pointedly, and Wind struggled a moment longer, then went limp, letting Twilight place him on his shoulder without further fuss.

He really was tired, as much as he hated to admit it. And Twilight’s pelt was a nice place to relax for a bit.

...Plus hey, he could see pretty far from up here. That was a plus.

Wind set his head on his paws with a breathy sigh, enjoying a view that wasn’t just feet and legs. That was another downside of being so small now— Wind couldn’t see barely anything, even when he craned his neck, and he hadn’t quite managed jumping just yet. So the view from Twilight’s shoulder was much appreciated.

Even if he would rather be walking.

“Hey... Sailor,” Twilight said after a minute, voice quiet. “I’m sorry about earlier. I know you’re having a hard time. I’m not trying to be pushy, I just want you to be careful.”

“I’ve been being careful,” Wind meowed quietly, knowing Twilight couldn’t understand, but hoping he’d get the gist. “You’re being overprotective.”

Twilight looked over at him, a serious look on his face. “I still remember the first day I got transformed. It was against my will, and I made a lot of mistakes, ones I could have avoided if I’d had someone who knew what it was like being transformed into an animal. I just want to make sure you don’t make the same ones.”

Wind blinked, thinking about that for a moment.

Then he sighed, stretching out a paw and lightly bapping Twilight’s nose. “Okay, I get it.” He’d try listening to Twilight a little more.

But if he kept being so crazily overprotective, all deals were off.

“Thanks Sailor,” Twilight said with a smile, and Wind flicked an ear in response, getting comfy on his shoulder.

No problem, he sighed to himself, and nestled down into Twilight’s pelt, intent on resting up so he could keep going as soon as possible.

Just don’t forget I’m a hero too, Twilight.

[skykid-void]

Turns out the reflection isn't a reflection

It's just the island upside down

[maxedes]

toto wolff confirmed on sky germany that

- they are still talking to carlos (infact they never stopped talking to him)

- they are ready to wait with their decision until abu dhabi testing (in october)

[bear-do-well]

am i huffing dangerous amounts of copium or is one of the choices in tabris' tathas story literally just about the evanuris and the black city

[starlit-fawn]

Did not see the appeal of cuddling in sky..... until I come back to being cuddled by random strangers. Even if it wasn't on purpose, wtf it was so cute and really made me smile.