"You know what I hate?" The Champion asked to no one in particular as he watched over the slow boiling pot of stew.
"Uh... Not having enough spices?" The Captain asked from his seat at the table.
Wild gave a nod. "Not what I was going for, but yes."
"Then what do you hate, Champ?" Wars asked while glancing over to the Vet. Legend was currently trying to stack his fork and knife on top of each other to no avail.
"How do I put this?" Wild tapped his chin in thought.
"As bluntly as you can." Hyrule chimed in.
"Fair enough. Why are certain clothes locked to certain people? It's fucking cloth." Wild complained with a laugh.
At first Wars was going to chide Wild for the language, but... He just couldn't. Wild had a point here.
"FINALLY!" Wind's loud voice startled Wars a bit as the Sailor had been awfully quiet in his seat. "Tetra and I both hate that stupid shit. What do you mean I can't wear heels? I'm trying to feel tall, and Tetra hates heels, and so somebody has to wear them."
"Tell me about it." Wild started. "Zelda let me try on one of her old royal dresses, don't ask how they survived a hundred years, and somebody had issues with that."
The Captain just laughed. Damn those social rules indeed. Wild in a dress wasn't something he was expecting to hear about today, but it was something that he could picture.
And the Champion would rock that dress.
"Heh, I've been thinking those rules were stupid since I knew they existed. So, since I was nine." Time joined the conversation. "I didn't even know what the big deal was back then."
"I'd ask how, but I'm afraid the answer would be too confusing." Twilight said.
"Oh, not at all, I was raised by forest spirits and a giant tree." The Old Man nonchalantly explained. "They didn't have concepts like "male" and "female." So imagine my confusion."
A claim that he made often but never elaborated on. Everyone, besides the Captain and Wind, thought it was a lie or a ruse.
Warriors just laughed, he couldn't help it.
"Oh little Mask and his insisting that he's a tree." Wars felt everyone's eyes turn to him.
Time laughed loudly. "You made that corporals life hell."
"I did not have time for that guy's bullshit. We are in the middle of a fucking war, if the kid says he's a tree then he's a fucking tree." Wars started to lose his composure from all of his laughing.
"What do you mean by "he's a tree"?" Sky asked while scratching his head.
"Again, I was raised by forest spirits." Time explain. "You lot, besides two, think this a lie. It's not."
"Time, your life profoundly confuses me." Sky said. "So they assigned you a tree?"
Time nodded.
"Instead of anything else?"
Another nod.
"Not like a boy tree? Just a tree?"
Another nod. "Two trees, to be exact. But yes."
"Two trees?"
"Maple and oak, to be exact."
Wars just watch the conversation with a grin. Oh, poor Sky. He must be feeling the same confusion that he and the Sailor had during the war.
"I feel so understood." Rulie said with the widest smile imaginable. "I'm just a Fae." He shrugged as the others turned to face him. "Not the legend kind of Fae. I was raised by Fairies."
"Well, now you can be a Fae tree. How lovely." Time stated with a laugh.
"What kinda tree?"
"Hmmm, you and the Captain both have the same one. Pine, and you can have maple too. As a treat."
"A Fae pine and maple tree. Nice."
"Are we just gonna brush over the fact that Wars already has a tree identity?" Legend asked.
"I do too!" Wind but in. "Take a guess, it's so obvious."
"Uh...Palm tree?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Correct!"
"What tree am I then?" Wild asked while seasoning a few cuts of meat.
"Willow." Time and Warriors both spoke at the same time.
"Damn, that was fast."
"You had this conversation before, hadn't you?" Sky asked while keeping his gaze locked to Wars. "So tell us our trees."
"Oh, alright, I'll try to remember all the specifics. It's been a while." Time laughed while tapping his fingers on the table.
"It all reminds me of the Minish. They have leaves instead of trees, though." Four, who had been quietly observing this whole time, finally spoke up.
"Oh, the Kokiri had leaves too. That's a whole other thing."
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i have another pet tip, for all pets not just dogs: take them to the vet young and/or soon after you adopt them, BEFORE something is wrong with them. either book a basic wellness appt for checks (no shots or procedures) or just ask the vet if it's ok if you drop by with the pet either on leash or in a carrier and just get as far as the waiting room or outside the clinic if they're still doing COVID airlock protocols or busy. plan for this to take several hours. let the pet approach the vet office entrance and hear/see/smell the waiting room, windows into the room, the door, all the spots around the door, etc. engage positively with them if they're feeling interested, soothe them if they're nervous, and give high value treats if possible. maybe assign a super S tier treat JUST for the vet (bacon, shrimp, stinkiest cheese, whatever). feeding them can short circuit their anxiety loops (not all the time for every animal, but as a general guideline). even a single positive exposure to the vet office environment will help next time you bring them in. a treat jackpot for every time they act brave and explore further is a great technique
vet visits aren't just more pleasant when the pet is not freaking out, they're safer for the vet and safer for the pet, not just because animals injure themselves and humans when scared, but also because it's a lot harder to examine a panicky cat or aggressive dog. if your pet is sick and you bring it to the vet and the vet needs four techs just to restrain it to take a temperature, that vet is not going to be able to get a good observation of the symptoms. they won't be able to get a baseline blood pressure or heart rate. panic alone can kill small animals like rabbits and birds.
when you meet the nurse or tech or vet at an appointment, pass them some of the special treats and ask them to feed some to the animal if the animal is willing to take them and it doesn't interfere with the appointment. vets are usually able to spare a couple seconds to do this to make the visit easier and the next visit even easier. i did this for my dog and he thinks the vets are his best friends even though he's had multiple surgeries, vaccinations, exams where he was nervous or uncomfortable, etc.
not all animals can be acclimated to the vet but most can. in an emergency it can make a huge difference whether your pet is a behavior case when you bring them in to the office or not, which is not the vet's fault but a factor of animal behavior. you can plan for it and make it easier on yourself!
edit: buying a muzzle in your dog's size and getting him used to it is an even bigger bonus tip. vets will love you for this. even good dogs sometimes need a muzzle. pain and fear do weird things to animal behavior
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