#def what happened not edited

[awakenmiamor]

Easy there john.....

[starry-bi-sky]

(Part of this post with older brother danyal al ghul)

...Okay, look. Sam knows she's staring. She knows very well that she is staring. And that if she doesn't stop staring it's gonna draw her unwanted attention, and that will only have to make her explain why she's staring. Which she doesn't want to do.

She's trying not to stare, which she thinks she should get brownie points for. She tries to look away, to find a spot on the wall to stare lifelessly at, maybe she can burn holes into some of these annoying socialites' heads. But eventually her eyes drift, and suddenly she's back to staring again.

Can you blame her though? Damian Wayne looks like a very close mini-me of her fucking best friend. Seriously, it's like looking into a mirror to the past. If that mirror to the past had green eyes rather than blue and a distinctive lack of a facial scar.

The first time she sees him when her parents drag her over to Bruce Wayne to butter up to him she has to do a doubletake. Then a triple take. Then a quadruple take, just for good measure that she was seeing what she was actually seeing. She was sure she looked like one of those stress toys that when squeezed had their eyes pop out comically like a Saturday morning cartoon, that's what she certainly felt like anyways.

Look, Danny's come a decent way from being that scowl-y, jerkish little ten year old she first met when he arrived like the wind to Amity Park five years ago (even if he was still occasionally scowl-y and jerkish), but one thing that's stayed the same is how reserved he is about his home life prior to being taken in by the Fentons.

He doesn't talk about it much, and Sam's come to know that he's very good at changing the subject when it gets brought up. Even after being friends for nearly four years, the only thing she and Tuck know for certain is that he has a little brother that he refers to as 'starlight', whom he cares a lot about but left on really bad terms with. And that he's never met his father, but wants to and knows who he is.

He's never told her or Tucker who he was though, and glancing at Bruce Wayne, Sam is realizing why. She can begrudgingly acknowledge all the good he's done for Gotham, but... well, if Danny told her that Bruce Wayne was his dad, she wouldn't have believed him at all.

But she's starting to see the resemblance, as subtle as it is.

And she sees the resemblance to Damian Wayne, her eyes dropping back down to him as he wears a very Danny-like scowl on his face, arms crossed behind his back as his eyes swept around the ballroom. He was five years younger than Danny, and god it was so, so weird.

His eyes turned on to her, and they locked gazes for a moment.

Involuntarily, Sam makes a startled noise and looks away. Fingers tap against her purse, black and purple and unfortunately a clutch that only held her phone and her wallet in it. She would have kept a knife on her, but her parents put their foot down and there was a security detail at the door. Only in Gotham.

Silently, she was hoping that the little Danny-me didn't say anything. Or at least, he hadn't noticed her staring. Which was a tall order if she ever heard one -- and unfortunately, her silent prayers went unanswered as her mother's eyes dropped down onto her.

"Did you say something, Samantha?" She asks in a sickeningly sweet voice, a sound that makes Sam's skin crawl. Her dad and Bruce Wayne's attention also turns onto her, and she glowers at her mom from the corner of her eye.

"I didn't say anything." Sam says, barely keeping her tone polite as she turned her head away. Her mother clucks her tongue, disapproving, but from her peripherals doesn't pester her more

Bruce Wayne, the bastard, takes that time to turn to Sam and grace her with his dime-a-dozen billboard smiles. "I've been talking with your parents this whole time, Miss Manson, you must be terribly bored. How is your schooling going?"

Sam eyes him up and down. On one hand, she immediately wants to be snarky. It's none of his business what her school life is like, she doesn't care for his fucking small talk.

On the other hand, this was Danny's whole father. Someone who she knows that Danny has wanted to meet for, what she's assuming, his whole life. He's never brought it up much, but she remembers that very quiet, solemn conversation she and Tucker had with him where he admits to having never met his dad. But god does he want to.

And... wait. Sam's eyes narrow, and she meets Bruce Wayne's eyes. Does this man even know Danny exists? She drops her gaze down to Damian, who was staring at her suspiciously, and then back up to Bruce, and she alternates between them.

Why was Damian living with Bruce, but not Danny? Why hasn't Bruce done anything to reach out to him - what was going on with Danny's biological family that Danny had to be separated from them, but not Damian? Danny's always been kinda mysterious, but now things weren't adding up.

Was Danny given up? Does Bruce just not want Danny, but wanted Damian? Why the fuck does Bruce Wayne know about Damian but not her best friend -- or does he know and just not care? He's fought for custody for his adoptive kids before, does he just not want to fight for his other biological son? Does he think Danny's not worth it?

She's never cared much about the Wayne family before, other than to hear about the advancements on WE's eco-friendly tech, but Sam thinks she's gonna have to look into why Damian Wayne was living with the Waynes.

Slowly, with a protective anger beginning to burn in her gut and crawl up her throat, a scowl slowly curls at the corner of her lip as she redirects her glare from her mother onto Bruce. "It's going fine," She says curtly, jutting her chin out defiantly. "Me and my friend Danny started a petition to fix the leaky faucets in the girls and boys' bathrooms in order to conserve more water for the rest of the city."

She eyes his face, waiting to see if anything like recognition flashes through it. And- and nothing. Sam breathes in slowly through her nose, trying to quell the red that's blurring the edge of her vision -- does he just, not know where Danny is?

Her parents however, make vaguely displeased expressions. "Our Samantha is... quite passionate about her pet projects." Her dad says, laughing low and nervously, "she's very vocal about silly things like that."

"Her friend Daniel is perhaps even worse than she is sometimes." Her mother adds on, fanning her face with her perfectly manicured hands with a sigh. "I swear, he's the one that keeps dragging her into these things."

Sam's anger turns on its head, and she whirls on her heel like a fire-breathing dragon. "It's Danyal." It rolls out like instinct. Danny's told them both that he hates the Americanized pronunciation of his name, but in a rare moment of restraint, puts up with it for reasons unknown to her. "And Danny doesn't make me do anything, it was my idea."

The name, Danyal, seems to ring some kind of bell in Brucie Wayne's head, because she sees him and Damian quietly perk up like two cats pricking up their ears. Her eyes flick onto him immediately, something dangerous rearing its head. So Bruce Wayne knows about Danny. And he's not reaching out to him. Is he? She's not sure.

She does know that she's gonna rip his throat out if she finds out that he's known about Danny this entire time and has been ignoring him while favoring his little brother. She'll hunt down Aragon herself and steal his dragon-shifting amulet and wreck house on Bruce Wayne if that's the case. Batman and his league of vigilantes be damned. Her parents don't notice her slowly turning head towards Bruce.

But Bruce does, and she makes direct eye contact with him. His smile doesn't falter, he just tilts his head like a curious puppy and looks at Sam's parents. She hopes Bruce can read minds, she hopes he can hear her threatening him.

"Danyal?" He asks, and Sam doesn't know if she hates the fact that he said it correctly or not. She just continues burning holes into him and hoping he might spontaneously combust.

Her mother waves her hand dismissively, tilting her nose up poshly into the air. "Our dear Samantha's little... foster friend from school," she says, not even bothering to hide her disdain, "a creepy little boy with the most garish scar on his face. He's a rude little thing, not good for polite company."

Scratch that, Sam mentally alternates between ripping into her parents and Bruce. She whirls on them. "Do not talk about Danny that way." She all but snarls, and they all but ignore her.

(She's tearing up the upholstery when she gets home. She's going to paint over the fine china. She's going to do something to make them pay for this.)

"Oh yes, he was taken in by that freaky Fenton family a few years ago." Her dad continues in lieu of her mom, and they both shake their heads disapprovingly. "It's just what our city needs, another menace."

"Danny is not a menace." Sam continues, raising her voice while her hands shake with rage. Her parents finally look at her, but she can already tell that they're going to scold her for raising her voice. She bulldozes over them and jabs her black-painted finger at them. "He's got a bigger heart than the both of you combined."

"Samantha, please." her mom says, exasperated. They both give her disapproving looks, Sam thinks about grabbing champagne off the tray of a nearby waiter and throwing it in their faces. "You defend that boy far too much. What do you actually know about him and his family?"

Sam sets her jaw, puffing herself up like a dragon protecting its hoard. She steps into her mom's space. "I know that he loves the stars; you can ask him anything about astronomy and he could give you an entire lecture on the formation, class types, and various gasses that stars are made up of. He can tell you how the Earth was formed, he can tell you about the visible light spectrum and about light curves, and a whole ton of other stuff that I don't really understand. But Danny loves talking about it."

Her face twists and scowls, "I know he cares a ton about the environment and about fixing light pollution, and preserving the forests and natural habitats of animals." She nearly jabs her finger into her mom's chest, "I know he loves dogs, and that there's one he feeds every day on the way to school that he calls Cujo, its a St. Bernard puppy and Danny carries him around whenever he sees him after school, and is in the middle of training him."

It's not a total lie, but it's not the whole truth either. Cujo doesn't need food, but Danny gives him it anyways. "I know he likes spicy food and loves movies but specifically only sci-fi and horror, and he hates most martial arts movies. His favorite superhero is the Martian Manhunter, but Batman comes in at a close second." For reasons to her that were pretty unknown, but it didn't matter.

"I know he loves wordplay and making puns, which I would have never expected from him when we first met, but it's so unbelievably Danny-like that I can't imagine him not making puns." And she smiles a little to herself, she remembers the first time Danny intentionally made a pun once and it got startled laughs out of both her and Tucker.

Her smile suddenly falters, and she swallows. Her lips purse up, wobbling, and she very quickly glances over to Damian Wayne, of whom is watching her with a vaguely bewildered expression alongside Bruce.

She turns her eyes back onto her parents. "And I know that he worries a lot, even if he has a shit way of showing it. I know he had a little brother that he hasn't seen since he was adopted by the Fentons, and he doesn't talk about him often but when he does he he calls him 'starlight'." From the corner of her eye, she sees Damian jerk.

"So- so, so what if he's not 'good for polite company'." Sam's voice, embarrassingly, cracks down the middle. But she's so angry over Danny's behalf that she doesn't really care. "Or that he can be mean, and critical, and stubborn. He's learning, and he's becoming kinder by the day. That's more than I can say about you."

(She remembers when Danny finally admitted to her and Tucker being his 'closest friends'. It was sometime before the portal incident, and it felt like a milestone because beforehand he only really referred to them as his companions or allies.)

(At the time, he'd looked unsure of himself. Skittish like a stray in the back of an alleyway, almost shy in his own way. It had come out stilted, slow, like an infant taking its first steps, and it would have been endearing if it hadn't been heartbreaking.)

Her parents rear back like she'd struck them, and her mother holds a hand against her chest in aghast. Sam doesn't care, she blinks the sting out of her eyes. "Samantha." Her mother starts.

Sam cuts her off, "I don't care what you have to say, you-- you pricks." she snaps, around her, there are gasps. Belatedly, she realizes she's grown an audience, but again she doesn't care. "Danny might be an asshole, but he cares. And I'd rather be around someone whose mean but cares, than someone whose nice but doesn't."

With that, she whirls on her foot and turns on Bruce Wayne, who has been silent the entire time with a surprised expression on his face. He starts to shake out of it when Sam turns to him, but she doesn't give him the chance to speak. "Enjoy your party." She snarls, and then stalks away.

[milkbreadtoast]

idk how i want to draw him yet and not ready to make a srs attempt but here's a bad kdj phone doodle lol🚶🏻

[luna-lovegreat]

I want. Four to get appreciation. Because

Four gave a ton of unnoticed help when Twilight was injured

The fight with Wild was difficult, and I know we're all concerned about his negative view of the shadow crystal

But Four did something that no one else really thought of to help- He took care of Twi's stuff

From the beginning he told Twilight to not worry about them

So Four took care of pretty much everything but the others (that Sky and Wars handled)

He took care of Epona

Which is so very important- he took care of Twilight's horse. After her arrival at the stable Four followed up on her

And for Epona, a horse so attached to her human, having some company can help so much for reassurance

He took care of Twilight's stuff

He got Twi's shield- his bags and equipment, and organized it into one place

And he was worried. He obviously found the shadow crystal while handling Twi's stuff, but his negative reactions to it were out of concern.

Also- because of his placement in this scene

I'm fairly convinced Four was ready to start cooking before Wild showed up (since he's beside the counter with food supplies). At the very least he had the basket of fruit out for everyone -but he was literally standing with food behind him- he thought of everything

And he did housekeeping!

Wars payed for the inn, so Four took care of the inn

Realistically these boys were probably not too concerned with tidyness. Four got all of Twi's things on one table, and took care of the room they stayed in

Organizing tables and Twi's things, having food supplies ready, and opening the curtains- overall he was the one tidying up the inn

Four helped in a huge way! He took care of Twi's horse (Epona is so important), his equipment and shield and bag, as well as the other rooms in the inn

Four filled in all the little tasks that others didn't think of. He helped in ways that were needed, but not obvious

There's a lot of problems with the shadow crystal and with Wild, and I don't know what's gonna happen in the future

But don't forget this- don't forget that Four was one who stepped up in an almost unnoticeable way

Don't forget that when everyone was barely holding it together, Four visited Twilight's horse and took care of his things

No matter what develops in the future- this amount of care shown is important ya know?

.

Art and comic from Jojo @linkeduniverse au :)))

[smilesrobotlover]

First|| <-previous next-> (soon)

AO3

Chapter 8- A Soldier’s Visit to Faron

Link woke up to the sound of talking. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window where the sun was shining through. He listened more carefully and recognized his pa’s voice speaking outside and he frowned. What was he doing outside? Link stood up and shuffled over to the window, looking out to see Rusl speaking with Auru. His pa’s arms were crossed, and a serious look was on his face while Auru had a more concerned expression. Rusl started speaking again and Link opened the window to hear him better.

“...I only wish I was stronger,” his pa said softly. Auru tilted his head.

“Rusl–”

“I know! I’m only human, I’m weaker than most of y’all but… I… he’s my son. I should be protecting him but… I can’t.”

Link frowned. Was he talking about him?

“Rusl, even a Hylian wouldn’t be strong enough to fight against a mysterious shadow monster. Be kinder to yourself.”

Rusl sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “I know… I know… It’s just terrifying, you know? It’s terrifying to discover that you can’t protect your family. If that thing got closer to Ordon and took–” his breath hitched and Auru rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t think about that. The beast did not get to Ordon. It didn’t hurt Uli or Colin or Rela or anyone.”

“It did hurt Link though…”

“Well, fortunately it didn’t hurt him too bad, right?”

Rusl shrugged. “Not as bad as me… But I don’t want him to have the responsibility of saving me. Not again.”

Link’s feelings grew conflicted. Was his pa ashamed of having to be rescued by him? Link supposed he understood to an extent. Since becoming a father himself, he’s wanted nothing more than to protect Kori and Midna with his life. If Kori had to save him… he’d probably be ashamed of himself too.

“That’s what you get for raising a heroic boy, Rusl,” Auru joked, and Rusl gave him an annoyed smile.

“It’s not my fault he turned out that way.”

“Oh shut it, of course it is!”

“No it isn’t, Link turned out that way because that’s the way he is.”

“Colin and Rela are the same way though, I think it is your fault.”

“Spirits!” Rusl lightly punched Auru in the arm and the old man chuckled.

“Oh c’mere,” Auru pulled Rusl into a hug, which he melted into. “It sounds like you two went through a lot, I’m sorry.”

From Auru’s large frame and Rusl’s smaller stature, it almost looked like a child hugging his father from Link’s perspective. It made his heart ache for Kori.

He prayed to every deity on the planet to keep him safe from the shadow beast.

The two men pulled away and started to head inside, and Link pulled away from the window as well, letting out a sigh. He knew it wasn’t appropriate for him to eavesdrop on such a conversation, but he couldn’t stop himself. To get his pa to open up about things that bothered him was like trying to pry a deku baba’s jaw open after it closed. But Link didn’t know if he regretted learning how Rusl truly felt about everything. He felt guilty, sad, and mostly confused from it all. He almost wished he was the one to be attacked by the shadow beast, that way his pa wasn’t hurt and traumatized the way he was. Link had dealt with far worse in his life; it would’ve been no different.

He finally went to close the window until he heard shuffling beside him, and movement from the corner of his eye caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. A person was turning around on the bed opposite from the other one Link was in, and Link backed up in shock. How in Din’s name did he not notice this person? Based on the clothes, he recognized the person as Sheik, but when he saw their face, his heart stopped.

It was Zelda who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

“Oh–”

Zelda felt her face and her eyes landed on her discarded mark and headwrap on the floor, and a string of curses from her mouth left Link more shocked. He didn’t know Zelda was even capable of swearing. Zelda scrambled for the clothes and nearly tumbled out of her bed while Link remained paralyzed. She finally stood up, her face covered up, yet her stormy-gray eyes couldn’t hide her identity. How did he not know?

“You—” he started, but Zelda stopped him.

“N-no… no I—”

“You– you’re—” Link’s mind was racing, and he was finally able to string a full sentence together. “What are you doing in my room?”

“Th-this was meant to be my room! I didn’t– you– I–” Zelda let out another cuss word which felt like a punch to Link’s face. She never acted in such a way around him; she was always so proper and polite. He ran his hand through his hair and stared at the floor with wide eyes.

“I don’t believe it– oh Goddesses you–”

Rusl burst through the door, interrupting the two.

“Oh Sheik! Link! Glad you’re both awake!” He said cheerily, leaning against the door frame. Link and Sheik only stared at him in shock. “Ya know, Sheik. You scared the living daylights outta me when you came in last night. You poor thing—must’ve been exhausted!”

Zelda and Link continued to stare in shock, and Rusl frowned.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything is fine,” Zelda—or Sheik—said breathlessly, before moving past Rusl towards the stairs. Rusl stared back at her for a moment before looking back at Link, clearly confused.

“What the heck happened there?”

“I… uh…” Link bit his lip, wondering what he should tell Rusl. Zelda had clearly kept this identity a secret for a reason—was it right to tell his father? “Uh… I was just surprised to see Sheik in here, that’s all,” he finally said, laughing nervously. Rusl stared for a moment before laughing slightly.

“Yeah, he must’ve been awfully tired, huh?” He chuckled, and Link nodded, forcing a smile. The two stared for a moment, Rusl’s smile fading more and more as Link’s fake smile grew bigger. “Well, Telma has some breakfast for us so… you can… come down–”

“Oh! Yes! Sounds great! Thanks pa!” Link said a little too loudly, and marched towards the stairs.

Breakfast was painfully awkward. Link couldn’t help but stare at Sheik, who looked terrified. She would glance at him and Link would look away, only for him to go back to staring at her. The others didn’t notice the tension between them, instead they were chatting happily with each other, unaware of the recent discovery Link made.

Did they know? Did Zelda want to keep it a secret from only him? Or were they just as oblivious as he was before? His mind wandered to Ashei, with their conversation about Sheik before. Did she know? She seemed to know about Sheik not being a man, but was it because she knew that Sheik was Zelda? His mind was racing as he thought about it, not paying attention to the other’s conversations.

“… and she just picked it up!” Rusl exclaimed, his hands gesturing in front of Link’s face, interrupting his staring. “I tell you, that girl was born to fight. We should start teaching Kori some sword fighting too, right Link?”

Link glanced at his father, then at everyone else staring at him.

“W-what?” He muttered, and Rusl raised an eyebrow.

“I was just telling them about Rela, and her first sword-fighting lesson! Kori is ten now, I think it’s about time he started learnin’ too!”

“Oh! Yes, right,” Link quickly said, going back to watching Sheik. Rusl continued to stare at him, the others doing the same.

“Uh, is everything alright, old boy?” Shad asked, looking between him and Sheik.

“Oh—“ Rusl adjusted himself in his seat and pointed at Sheik. “He just broke into our room last night and scared me stiff. I’m sure he must’ve shocked Link this morning.”

Link saw Ashei worriedly turn her head to Sheik, who remained unmoving.

“Oh my goddesses, Rusl,” Auru groaned, “did you take the first room? Sheik is always the one in there!”

“Since when did we have room assignments?” Rusl argued.

“It’s an unspoken rule! Sheik takes the first room. I take the third one, Ashei takes the second and Shad takes the room across, and you and Link take the room in the back!”

“But they ain’t labeled!”

“That’s—ugh, boy…. That’s why it’s unspoken!”

Sheik got up abruptly as the two argued and left the bar. Link stood up as well and followed. He had so many questions for her, and he wanted answers. He found Sheik right outside the bar, and she didn’t look surprised to see Link.

“Link,” she started, and he stopped right in front of her.

“Zelda.”

“Don’t… ah…”

“Oh—right. Sorry. Sheik,” Link pursed his lips and the two sat in silence. Every question he had was gone in an instant. It almost saddened him—they worked well together during the twilight invasion, yet their relationship was never strengthened. Zelda wanted him to be a knight and to be a representative for Hyrule, but Link didn’t want to be stuck with nobles doing useless things; much less being some trophy for the people to gawk at. It put a strain on their relationship, and he didn’t expect to be speaking to Zelda ever again.

Then again, they’ve been speaking for a while now, yet he didn’t know.

“Sorry my pa took your room,” he finally said.

“Oh… it’s alright.”

Link smiled awkwardly and nodded. Sheik nodded back. There was silence again between the two, and Link cleared his throat.

“So… Sheik. What—um—why?”

“Why what?”

Link huffed and ran his hand through his hair. “Why? Why didn’t you tell us? Why are you doing this? I just… I’m curious…”

Sheik’s brows furrowed together and she looked down. “I just… wanted to do more for my kingdom.”

Link frowned. “But you’re the queen. You do more for Hyrule than anyone else!”

Sheik shook her head. “Not enough.” She sighed and sat on a box, rubbing her eyes. “During the twilight invasion, I felt… helpless. I couldn’t do anything for anyone. I was a prisoner in my own home, and all I could do was trust you. I just… I never want to be out of control like that ever again. I want to personally save Hyrule myself if it were to come to it. I felt that… as Sheik… I could do that. I wasn’t a queen anymore I-I felt more like… I don’t know… a protector. I feel like I can actually make an impact doing this.”

Link gave her a sad look and joined her on the box, staring at the door that led to Telma’s bar. “You don’t give yourself enough credit,” he started softly. “You did so much during the invasion. You… you kept Zant from slaughtering everyone in Hyrule. You saved my life and you saved Midna’s life at your own expense. You helped me defeat Ganondorf,” Link looked up at her, but she didn’t meet his eyes. “I couldn’t have saved Hyrule if not for you.”

“But… I couldn’t do more—“

“Goddesses, Sheik, I thought you gave up your life for Midna’s! I thought you died! What more could you have done?”

Sheik finally looked up at him. “I don’t know.”

“Good!” Link crossed his arms and sat up straight. “Now you know. You’re good enough!” Link felt his face flush at the corny message, and he turned away. The two were silent again; the sounds of laughter and bottles crashing were the only sounds heard. Link let out a sigh and turned to Sheik again. “I can understand though, wanting to do things yourself. I guess if I had to give orders and then sit there and wait for it to get done, I’d lose my mind a bit too.”

Sheik looked up at him, and though he couldn’t see her expression well, he did see a glimmer in her eye.

“I’m glad you somewhat understand,” she said.

Link hummed and nodded, and he pursed his lips. “So… why didn’t you tell the resistance?”

“It defeats the purpose of a secret identity, doesn’t it? I can't go around saying that I’m the queen when I… look like this,” she gestured to her outfit. “If they knew that I was not on the throne, they’d probably think me to be lazy.”

“Well, you’re not. You’re a good queen.”

Sheik’s eyes had more of a smile to them from that. “Thank you.”

Link gave her a smile. For once, they were having a pleasant conversation. No evil trying to destroy the world, no enemies needing to be defeated, and no heart broken from a love supposedly killed. They were just two people. Seeing Zelda as Sheik, he saw her in a different light. A simple woman who was trying.

“How did Kori come to be?” Sheik suddenly asked, and Link’s eyes widened. The resistance only met Kori a handful of times, and he didn’t think about how it would’ve affected Sheik. She and Rusl were the only ones who knew about Midna. Rusl found out about Midna’s return, but Zelda never did…

“Uh…. Well… I don’t know what you’re asking specifically but… Twili’s bodies aren’t too different from ours,” he mumbled.

Sheik’s face flushed slightly and she shook her head. “T-that’s not what I meant.”

Link cursed in his mind and laughed nervously. “Oh! Well… sorry.”

“No no, I should’ve been more specific. I meant… How is Kori here? Midna destroyed the mirror, there should be no connection to the twilight realm.”

“Oh… well…” Link stared at the ground, watching bits of dust move with the light breeze. He let out a sigh. “I have no idea. One night, Midna came to my door with Kori in her arms… and now he’s here.”

Sheik studied his face for a moment. “Is Midna still here?”

Link paused. Should he tell her that Midna visited whenever she could? Would Sheik feel left out if she knew that she only visited Link and his family? Did she even care? He didn’t know how close the two were during the invasion; he knew they were acquainted before he came along, but Midna didn’t seem to like her in the beginning. In the end, they were more like allies than friends. But was he wrong?”

“She… visits,” he finally said, and Sheik’s saddened look made him regret saying it.

“I see,” she whispered.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t… you guys… I didn’t know you were friends and—“

“We weren’t,” Sheik said bluntly. “I suppose we never were.”

That stung slightly, hearing that about Midna. He wondered why she wouldn’t tell Sheik about everything, but he shouldn’t be surprised. If Kori never got hurt in the twilight realm, she probably would’ve never come in the first place.

“If it makes you feel any better, she never came back for me,” he started in a cautious tone, “she came back for Kori.” Sheik gave him a confused look so he elaborated. “I don’t know if you remember, but he has a scar up along his arm,” Link traced his forearm to show where the scar was, and Sheik watched carefully. “Apparently, when he was two, an advisor hurt him because… he was scared Kori would doom the Twili. There’s only one female Twili, and she’s meant to give birth to the heir, who will also be a female. But Kori… not only was he a half Twili, but he was a boy. And… They hurt him.” Link frowned. It was difficult saying it all out loud. The familiar rage that he thought he moved on from began to bubble in his chest, and he had to clench his fists to control it. If he ever met the Twili that hurt his son…

“So… you didn’t know about Kori?” Sheik asked, and Link nodded.

“She knew he wouldn’t be safe in the twilight realm, so she found a way back to Ordon. I still have no idea how she’s going back and forth though. She refuses to tell me, but I think she’s afraid of another invasion happening and… destroying the mirror to be a waste.”

Sheik nodded, but she still had a sad look in her eyes.

“Look, Sheik, she’s very secretive. Only my family knows and that’s ‘cause my pa knew her and… she’s never made herself known to anyone. So…. Yeah…. And she’s never left Ordon either.”

Sheik looked down at her fidgeting hands. “I see…”

Link frowned, the silence entering their conversation again. They sat for a long moment, until Link had an idea.

“You know, Sheik… I’m sure Midna would love to see you again.” She looked up, giving him a confused look. “If you ever wanna… I dunno… turn into Sheik and visit Ordon… We’d love to have you. I make great pumpkin soup.”

Sheik stared at him with wide eyes, before turning away with a small laugh. “I might… take you up on that offer,” she said softly, and Link’s heart swelled. They smiled at each other, and Sheik looked like she was about to say something, but they were interrupted by the door opening. Ashei poked her head through the door and gave the two of them a look.

“Is everything ok out here?” She asked.

“Yes, Ashei everything is fine,” Sheik said, giving Link a look. “He… sort of found out about… me…”

Ashei sighed. “I was afraid that was the case.”

Link glanced between the both of them. “So you did know about her?”

Ashei nodded. “Don’t know if you remember when we were investigating the rogue Bulblins, but our queen here got herself injured. It’s kinda hard to take care of an injured person with a mask covering their mouth, yeah?”

Link shrugged. “I guess so. It certainly explains a lot.”

Sheik nodded awkwardly and sighed. “It was difficult for me at the moment, but I am glad that I didn’t have to hide my true identity from at least one person. But now I guess it’s two people.”

Ashei made a face. “I have a feeling the rest of them will be finding out soon.”

An annoyed sigh escaped Sheik and she nodded. Ashei shrugged and gestured to the bar with her head. “Come on inside, yeah? We’re going to start planning.”

Link and Sheik stood up to follow Ashei inside, but Link stopped Sheik before they headed inside.

“You ready to save Hyrule again?” He asked, his fist hanging in front of her. She stared at it for a moment, then nodded, bumping his waiting fist with her own.

“I’m more than ready.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Kori! Pay attention!”

Kori looked up at Rela who had her wooden sword resting on her shoulder. She glared at him, one hand on her hip and one foot tapping impatiently in the Ordon spring water. Kori glanced at his own wooden sword, pouting at his aunt.

“Rela, I don’t wanna do this.”

“Shut it! You’re old enough to learn sword fighting, and my pa ain’t here to teach you. So it’s up to me to do it!” Her sword was swung to the ground and she held it up against Kori. “There’s a monster out there in Faron woods, so we need to be able to defend ourselves and Ordon!”

“Isn’t that why Colin and Beth and Talo are here though?” Colin and the others had been patrolling Ordon, searching for any dangers that could threaten their home. Kori didn’t quite understand what was happening; no one told him anything when he asked. His pa and grandpa left to castle town before he had a chance to think, so he was staying with his gramma, confused about what was happening.

“Colin may need our help if we are attacked,” Rela started to argue, marching back and forth as the sword swung in her hands. “If we’re able to help them, we’ll be heroes! Isn’t that what you want Kori? To be a hero?”

“Not really. I just wanna be a farmer,” Kori said simply. Rela groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Why are you being so boring?”

Kori felt a sting in his heart, but he ignored it. “I’m not being boring! I just… I just wanna play with my toys!”

“Well too bad! Now, block this attack!”

Kori gasped as Rela swung her sword at him. He quickly brought his own up and staggered back as she hit it. He glanced at his sword, then glared at Rela.

“Don’t hit it so hard!”

“You need to block better! Stand your ground!”

Rela swung at him again and he squealed as it smashed against his own. Rela got closer to him and he started to run away, but Rela quickly stopped him.

“Don’t be a coward! Face me!”

“Rela, you’re so much bigger than me! I’m scared!” Kori pleaded, but she only charged at him again. She knocked into him and he fell backwards into the water. He gasped and looked up to see Rela swinging down onto him. He quickly brought his own sword up and was barely able to block it. Scrambling to his feet, he clumsily blocked a few more attacks. Kori grew more focused with each attack, planting his feet so he could stay unmoving in the sparring. She hit his sword a few more times until Kori slipped up, and Rela’s smacked his arm. Kori squealed in pain and dropped his sword, holding his aching arm.

“Ooooow! Rela! You hit me!” He cried, tears forming in his eyes.

“Oh you’re fine. This is why we train with wooden swords, so we don’t end up killing each other!” She took a step forward, her arms crossed. “If it were the real deal, you would’ve lost your arm.”

Kori huffed angrily at her. “I’m telling Gramma!”

Rela’s eyes went big, her tough demeanor dropping instantly, and she quickly jumped in front of Kori as he went to leave the spring. “N-no no no! Please don’t tell my ma! I’m so sorry Kori!”

Kori ignored his aunt’s begging, trying to push past her.

“Wait! Kori! We can play with our toys now, ok? We can do whatever you want! In fact—here!” Rela grabbed Kori and put her sword in his hand. “You can hit me back! Just please don’t tell my ma!”

Kori glared at her as she kept grabbing his arm, then he bit her hand. Rela shrieked and pulled her hand back, giving Kori a horrified look.

“You bit me!”

“Well you said I could hurt you back!”

“I said you could hit me back, not bite me!”

Kori crossed his arms and turned away. “Well you wouldn’t stop grabbing me! I’m tired of playin’ with swords! I’m going back home!”

Kori marched through the water, feeling Rela’s glare at the back of his head. He suddenly felt water splash onto his head, and he gasped as his clothes and hair got fully drenched. He spun around at Rela and snarled at her.

“What? You were wet anyways,” Rela said.

“That’s it!” Kori screamed as he charged at the Rela, and the two started to grapple and become tangled with each other. Rela was much older and stronger than Kori was, so she easily pinned him down, but he kept biting her hands which caused her to pull back.

“Stop biting me!” She yelled.

“Well stop pulling at my hair!” Kori yelled back as she tugged at his hair. The two wrestled for a while longer until they were interrupted.

“What are you two doing?”

The kids stopped and looked up at Uli who was glaring at the two. She was panting and her hands were balled up, a fire in her eyes as she watched the two kids. The two quickly scrambled to their feet, staring at her guiltily. Uli relaxed a little, then glanced at the bridge past Ordon worriedly.

“You kids aren’t supposed to be out here,” she scolded, walking towards the two.

“We’re still in Ordon,” Rela sassed, but she quickly straightened herself out with a glare from Uli. “I-I mean… you said we had to stay in Ordon so… we are still… here… in Ordon.”

“No, you’re staying in the village itself. We’re not gonna be out by the spring or by Kori’s house, ok?”

Rela and Kori glanced at each other.

“Why?” Kori asked, trying not to sound rude or sassy.

“Because it’s too far from the others. If something were to happen, no one would know. Now come on,” Uli gestured to the village with her head, and Kori and Rela quickly followed.

“I hope you two have done your chores,” Uli started as they walked past Kori’s home, “it’s pretty early in the morning, is it not?”

Rela gave Kori a worried look, then looked down guiltily. “Um…. We did some…”

Uli sighed. “Why did you do some and not all?”

Rela huffed and jogged in front of her ma. “Because! I know there’s a monster out there hurting people! It attacked pa and Link! I just want to make sure me and Kori are strong enough for when it attacks again!”

Uli stopped and gave Rela a sad yet proud look. “Rela, it’ll be fine. Your pa and Link are taking care of it, while Colin and the others are protecting Ordon. You don’t have to be responsible for our safety.”

“But—“

“I know you’re excited to use your sword techniques your pa taught you, but it’s not enough. For now—just—focus on your chores, ok?”

Rela pouted and glumly walked to her house, her head hanging. Kori stood by his gramma, leaning his head against her leg. She chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“Did you do your chores today, Kori?”

Kori pursed his lips. Rela had lied about them doing some of their chores. They actually did none of their chores. But unlike Rela, Kori was a horrible liar.

“N-no… we didn’t do anything,” he mumbled, but then quickly added, “I mean, I didn't do anything! Rela did though!”

Uli gave him a soft smile. “You don’t have to cover for Rela, dear. I know she was lying.”

“Oh…”

Uli let out a loud sigh and rubbed her head. “Go and do your chores dear, luckily there’s not a whole lot for you to do since you’re not at home right now.”

Excitement swelled within Kori and he nodded. He heard his gramma giggle as he ran to the home, barged into his room, and ran past Rela who was grumbling to herself. He quickly picked up his area in his grandparent’s home, plucked the weeds in the gardens, and collected the ripe fruit, though there wasn’t a lot. There wasn’t much else for him to do—he couldn’t help Fado with the goats since he was too small, and he couldn’t clean up his home since he wasn’t allowed in there. So he started to wander around Ordon, watching the villagers go about their day. He couldn’t help but focus on Coro, the man who started staying with Fado. Kori had rarely talked to Coro before, and the man’s carefree attitude and animals that hung around enticed him. But Kori was too shy to approach the strange man—he didn’t know how Coro would react to him.

The best way for Kori to learn more about Coro was to sneakily follow him around Ordon. It was always easy for Kori to stalk the humans in Ordon; their round ears didn’t pick up on sounds like his and his papa’s did, so he followed the man around for a while without being noticed. He watched Coro simply sit by the pond for a long time, talking to his funny bird pet who chattered to him back. Smaller birds floated around his head, and even nestled inside it, and the cuccos trotted around him. Kori wondered if birds generally liked him, and how he could make birds like him as well.

Kori’s stalking didn’t go unnoticed forever, however, and Coro spotted him hiding behind a bush. The two made eye contact, and Kori ducked for cover, but it was already too late.

“Uh, hello,” Coro called out awkwardly, and Kori shyly popped up from the bushes. Coro smiled gently and gestured for him to come closer. “No reason to hide, tiny guy.”

Kori looked behind him and shuffled over to the strange man.

“Hi,” he greeted quietly, and the parrot resting on Coro’s knee squawked a greeting back. Kori jumped at the sudden sound and Coro chuckled.

“Trill, you don’t need to be that loud,” he said.

“Sorry,” the bird squawked, not any quieter than before. Kori giggled slightly and held his hand out to Trill.

“Careful, he might peck at you,” Coro warned, and Kori drew his hand back, giving Coro a guilty look. Coro reached up and gently grabbed the smaller birds in his hair and offered it to Kori. “These guys are much nicer.”

Kori smiled and offered his hand again, and the tiny bird peeped, hopping into it. Kori giggled at the tickling feeling of its tiny feet against his palm and gently stroked its little head.

“That one is named Chickie,” Coro started to explain, “he was born not too long ago.”

Kori’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yep! His family is here somewhere,” Coro started digging around in his hair, pulling out different tiny birds from the nest on his hair and showing them to Kori. He made a whistling sound and the birds floated over to Kori and landed on his arms and head. Kori froze, feeling the tiny talons lightly digging into his skin. Coro chuckled again. “They’re friendly! Don’t worry.”

Kori grinned and watched the birds hop around, giggling as they tickled him when they moved.

“Yeah, Trill here is nice enough, but you need to be careful. He can be a little aggressive if you freak him out,” Coro explained, petting Trill gently. “He’s had so many people steal from him, he has to be aggressive, you know?” Kori nodded seriously. “Apparently, a few years ago, some green guy kept stealing his lamp oil and red potion, no matter how many times he fought back! Can you believe that? What kind of horrible person steals from a bird?”

Kori nodded again. His pa always taught him to not steal, so he knew to take that very seriously. One of the birds flew back to Coro’s nest-hair so Kori allowed the others to return as well.

“Um, thank you for letting me hold your birds,” Kori mumbled, and Coro grinned.

“Of course! It’s easy to be scared of animals, especially birds, but I always think we should be more understanding of them. It’s best to learn young, anyway!” Coro lifted the smaller birds to his hair and gave Kori a look. “So… if you don’t mind me asking, tiny guy, what exactly are you?”

Kori thought for a moment. “A Twilian.”

Coro frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. Well, it’s nice to officially meet you, tiny guy.”

Kori nodded excitedly. “My name is Kori.”

“I’m Coro.” He offered his hand to Kori and he gingerly took it, letting Coro shake their hands. Coro pulled away and went back to petting Trill. “Do you like animals, Kori? I assume that’s why you decided to follow me.”

“Oh! Yeah, I love animals.”

“What’s your favorite animal?”

“I love kitties.”

Coro smiled warmly. “I think I saw kitties by Sera’s shop, did you see them?”

Kori nodded, but a sense of dread entered him when he thought about Sera. He hadn’t seen the kitties in a while.

“That’s good, they’re so cute and tiny,” Coro continued when Kori didn’t say anything. “But I’m more of a bird person myself. I forget how great the cuccos are here in Ordon.”

Kori nodded again and looked around him, spotting Rela who was stomping around the village. They made eye contact and his aunt began to angrily stomp towards him. Uh-oh.

“I think cuccos are misunderstood creatures,” Coro continued to ramble, not caring if Kori was paying attention or not. “As long as you respect them, they respect you. That’s why you should always treat animals with respect. Because respect is a two-way path and—”

“Kori!” Rela shouted when she got close enough and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be doin’ chores?”

Kori glanced at Coro who was still rambling about animals. “I got them all done! There wasn’t a whole lot since I’m not at home right now.”

Rela huffed and said a bad word under her breath. “W-well, help me with mine so I can get done!”

Kori scrunched up his face. “I’m not gonna do your chores! You have to do them yourself!”

“But what will you do? You’ll be sooo bored.”

Kori gestured to Coro who finally stopped talking and was observing the two kids. Rela squinted her eyes and faced him fully.

“Weren’t you the guy who came here crying like a baby?” She sneered.

“Yes,” Coro said simply. “And if you saw what I saw, you’d be crying like a baby too.”

Rela seemed surprised at the response and she turned away, her arms crossed. “Well, Kori needs to help me with my chores so we can hang out—”

“No I don’t!” Kori shouted.

“Yes you do! You still need more training!”

Kori groaned. “We’ve been training all morning! I don’t want to do that!”

Coro glanced between the two. “Training? For what?”

Rela gave him a look but once again faced him. “Training to protect Ordon of course!”

Coro’s eyes widened and he nodded slowly. “Ok.”

“So I need to get done as soon as possible so we can keep training and—” Rela’s eyes widened and her hands shot up to her head. “Oh no! The swords!”

Kori raised an eyebrow and Rela suddenly grabbed his hands, pulling him away from Coro.

“H-hey, wha—Bye!” Kori called out to Coro, and the man waved back. “Rela! What’s going on?”

“I left the swords at the spring!” Rela cried. “They’re gonna get ruined in the water! And pa will be so mad if he finds out I left them soaked!”

Kori tried to pull free from her grip, but she was too strong. “But we’re not supposed to go to the spring!”

Rela stopped and spun around to face Kori. “We won’t be gone for too long, ok? We’re just gonna grab them and come right back! But I need to get those before they’re ruined forever!”

Kori frowned but was immediately grabbed and pulled behind Rela again. The two sprinted towards the spring, Kori feeling more and more anxious as he looked around the forest. Every bone in his body was telling him to leave and that he wasn’t supposed to be there. But he continued to follow Rela, not wanting either of them to be left alone in these woods. They made it to the spring and Rela sprinted to the water, grabbing the soaked wooden swords.

“Thank the spirits I remembered these!” She said, relieved. “Hopefully they’re not ruined…”

Kori stared at the wooden swords and sighed. “Can we go back now? We’re not supposed to be here.”

Rela rolled her eyes. “Ok, yes we can go.”

The two kids started to leave the spring, but Kori heard a strange noise. He frowned and turned his head to hear it better. It sounded like the trotting of a horse. He found himself wandering closer to the bridge, and he spotted something walking towards him and Rela.

“What is it?” His aunt asked, but Kori was frozen. Whether it was of fear or anticipation, he didn’t know, but he couldn’t move his eyes off of the moving figure. As the figure got closer, he recognized it as a rider on a horse, and he got filled with excitement.

“PAPA!” He shouted, running across the bridge and towards the horse. But as he got closer, he realized that the horse was not Epona, and the man riding the horse was neither his grandpa nor his papa. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the strange man with wide eyes, and the rider stopped, the five other horses and men stopping as well. The man stared back at Kori, his green eyes observing him. Rela caught up to Kori and quickly got in front of him, glaring at the man.

“Hello,” he greeted, “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“What do you want?” Rela spat, and Kori was surprised at her hostility towards an adult.

“Easy now, me and my men are just investigating some disappearances,” he explained. He hopped off his horse and took off his helmet. The man had brown hair that stopped beneath his chin, and Kori noticed his delicately pointed ears that labeled him a Hylian. His tan brown skin made his emerald eyes stick out and his mustache was curled up in a gentle smile. He bowed his head slightly with his right hand over his heart. “My name is Hoz, I am the captain of the Hylian guard. I just have some questions I need to ask the villagers near this area. May I speak with the adults there?”

Rela puffed her chest and crossed her arms. “You can speak to us.”

Hoz stared at her for a moment, then glanced at the soldiers behind him. “Uh… I’d prefer to speak to an adult. Where are your parents?”

Rela frowned. “We can speak just fine!”

Hoz began to look around, noticeably uncomfortable. “Right, well, is your village just down the trail?”

“I’m not telling you!” Rela yelled.

“Yes,” Kori answered softly. Rela spun around and shot him a glare while Hoz smiled warmly.

“Thank you. It’s quite a long walk isn’t it? Would you kids like to hitch a ride on my mount?” He gestured to his large speckled horse, but Rela quickly shook her head.

“My parents told me I shouldn’t ride with strangers.”

Hoz chuckled and bowed his head again. “Understood.”

“Hey now! You can’t go to the village!” Rela hopped in front of him as he started to move, pointing her wooden sword at him. “We’re on high alert right now! There’s somethin’ out in the woods, so me and Kori are here to keep it safe! You got that?”

Hoz’s eyes widened at the wooden sword and he gently redirected the sword and started to walk forward. “I promise we mean no harm to your village—”

Rela repointed her sword at him. Hoz took a deep breath and moved it again.

“We’re just investigating some disappearances and—” Rela insisted with her sword once again, and he gave up on moving past it. “Whatever information your parents may have will be useful for the protection of Hyrule.”

Rela squinted her eyes and Kori heard the soldiers behind Hoz groan.

“Will you just move, you little brat?” One of them called out, and Hoz shot them a warning glare.

“Listen, we don’t have time for this,” Hoz sighed, rubbing his eyes. “You said there was something in the woods, correct?”

Rela squinted her eyes, not saying anything. Kori walked up to Hoz and the captain glanced at him.

“I think my papa was attacked by a monster,” he said softly, and Hoz’s eyes went big.

“What monster?” Hoz asked, kneeling at Kori’s level.

Kori shrugged, staring at the ground. He heard more footsteps and he looked up, noticing Colin jogging towards the group.

“What’s going on?” His uncle asked, eyeing the soldiers with a threatening glare. Hoz stood up and gave him a slight bow, looking relieved.

“Hello my good sir, my name is Hoz. I am the captain for the Hylian guard.”

Colin's eyes widened and he nodded. “R-right, of course,” he turned his attention to the kids and grabbed Rela. “What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be in the village!”

“I left the wooden swords in the spring!” Rela defended herself, gesturing to them.

Colin rolled his eyes and turned to Hoz. “I’m so sorry about my little sister and nephew, they’re not supposed to be out here.”

Hoz waved his apology away. “It’s no trouble. I’m just glad that…” he gave Rela a look, then cleared his throat, “I’m just glad that I can speak with an adult.”

Rela made an offended noise and Colin pushed her behind him.

“Of course! What do you need?”

Hoz straightened his posture and cleared his throat. “These men and I were requested by Queen Zelda to find information on disappearances that have been happening throughout Hyrule. I just wanted to ask if you knew any information on this.”

Kori watched the gears in his uncle’s head turning. Were these disappearances what Barnes was talking about? Colin ran his fingers through his hair and nodded.

“Yes, actually I think I do.”

Hoz’s eyes widened and his polite demeanor dropped instantly. He ran up to Colin and grabbed his arm. “You do? What did you find?” Colin leaned back slightly and Hoz quickly jumped back. “A-apologies. I just… I’ve been searching for a while and haven’t found anything.”

Colin smiled nervously. “I understand.” He glanced at Kori and Rela, then looked up at the captain. “My pa and brother were attacked by a monster a couple of nights ago.”

Hoz stared for a moment, almost looking disappointed. “A monster? Is that it?”

“It‘s not an ordinary monster,” Colin looked back at Kori and Rela again and stepped closer to the captain, speaking so softly that Kori could barely hear him. “Do you remember the twilight invasion, with the black beasts roaming Hyrule?”

Hoz’s eyes widened. “I do remember. They stormed the castle. I could’ve lost my life if Zelda had not surrendered.”

Colin nodded and Rela gave Kori a confused look, hoping he knew what they were saying. Kori almost wished he didn’t; black beasts roaming Hyrule… it sounded terrifying.

“My pa and brother were attacked by one in Faron woods a couple of nights ago. It could still be here, or it could’ve moved around,” Colin continued, looking around at the trees nervously. “But it’s what’s taking these people. I don’t know what it’s doing to them, but it can’t be anything good.”

Hoz nodded and smiled at him, resting his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, young man. For once, we actually have a lead now!” He turned around to his men and nodded, gesturing to Faron. “We’ll investigate these woods, the rest of you should remain indoors—“

“No no no, wait,” Colin moved in front of Hoz, stopping him in his tracks. “I don’t think you should go hunting for it. It’s… it’s dangerous.”

“I know,” Hoz said, “I fought several of them and I don’t think I ever killed one. They were always revived before my very eyes.” Hoz glanced at the children. “But I think me and five other men can handle one.”

Colin shook his head, once again stopping the captain. “My older brother fought and killed hundreds of them. He couldn’t even defeat this one. It’s more dangerous; you need a plan.”

Hoz frowned. “Who is your brother may I ask?”

Colin fidgeted slightly and pursed his lips. “He—he’s the hero of Hyrule, sir.”

Hoz stared blankly, then he let out an exasperated sigh. “Alright.”

“I’m not lying!”

“I didn’t say you were lying,” he quickly defended, but his tone didn’t convince Colin. Kori’s uncle gave him a glare, clearly using his taller height to try to intimidate the man, but the captain didn’t waver. “Look, I know a hero of Hyrule existed during the twilight invasion; who else would’ve saved Hyrule if not?”

“Then what’s your issue?” Colin pressed, and Hoz finally began to shift uncomfortably.

“I–I… It’s nothing,” Hoz let out a sigh and looked around. “Show me where this monster was spotted. Me and my men will take care of it.”

Colin pursed his lips, the gears turning in his head as he thought of what to do next, but he finally relaxed and started moving towards Faron Woods.

“It was by a house in front of the caves where it was first spotted,” he started to explain, Hoz following on foot. Kori glanced at Rela who started walking with Colin, a determined look in her eye as she clutched her wooden sword. “It moved around as my older brother and pa fought it though, so I can’t promise it’s still there.”

“That’s quite alright, we can make do,” Hoz said, an excited gleam in his eye. The group was silent as they marched through the woods, and they stopped right outside a house. Kori had seen this place before, but he never visited it. He wondered if Coro lived here.

“Well… Uh… here it is,” Colin said awkwardly, gesturing to the home. “Faron Woods in general is where it was, but this place is where they found it.”

“Fascinating,” Hoz muttered, his eyes fixated on the home as he walked towards it. “Men, look around and let me know if you find anything.” He turned to Colin. “You may return home if you wish. We’ll handle this.”

Colin sighed and nodded, turning to Kori and Rela who stood watching. He began to nudge them back towards Ordon, keeping them from moving away from him.

“You two should’ve gone back home,” he scolded, his hand never leaving Kori’s back.

“But I want to help fight a monster!” Rela protested, but Colin shook his head.

“Trust me, Rela, you are not ready to fight this monster,” he said, a nervous look in his eyes. “I don’t know if these guys will be ready to fight it either….” Colin’s voice trailed off and he stared at the grass with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Rela grumbled and crossed her arms, glaring at the grass as well. Kori only stared ahead, spotting the Faron spring coming into view. But as he got a better view, he noticed something that made him freeze in fear.

A large, black creature stood out from the bright, colorful spring. Arms hung awkwardly on its back as it paced the holy waters, and it turned to the group, with its yellow teeth being the only visible facial feature. Kori felt Colin’s hand grip on his shirt, and he was slowly pulled backwards away from the beast.

“What are you doing?” Rela yelled, annoyed, but Colin shushed her, his eyes never leaving the beast. She squirmed in his hold and Colin gripped her tighter.

“Rela, stop moving!” He hissed, his voice shaking slightly as they backed away.

“Let go of me!” Rela began to shout louder, and Colin quickly put his hand on her mouth. The black beast began to move closer to them, moving just as slow as they were. Rela squealed as she was muffled, but it turned into a gasp when she noticed the monster. The beast got low, and Colin let go of the two, shoving them back towards where Hoz was.

“RUN! NOW!” He shouted, and Kori’s adrenaline spiked, causing him to sprint. He fell behind Rela quickly, and he felt like he wanted to sob, but Colin kept nudging his back. He heard crashing behind them, but he didn’t dare look. He saw Hoz who looked startled at the sudden action, and Kori gasped as he tripped over his own skirt. He felt Colin lean over him protectively, hugging him close to shield him from the monster. Kori twisted his neck to look behind him, and he saw the beast snarling down on them, black spit pouring out of its mouth. He curled into Colin who had his sword drawn, but his uncle was shaking uncontrollably.

“Good goddesses!” Hoz exclaimed, his own sword being drawn. Kori heard the men let out a battle cry as they charged the creature, and Colin finally scrambled to his feet with Kori in his arms. He was looking behind his uncle as he ran, and saw the black beast swatting away the soldiers as if they were annoying flies. Some of the soldiers who were hit got back up and ran away, soon leaving Hoz alone to fight the beast.

“Get back here, you cowards!” Hoz yelled as he dodged a swipe from the creature, and Colin reached Rela who was crying. He set him down next to her and gestured to the house.

“Hide yourselves in there, ok? I’m gonna go help him,” he said quickly before giving the two a quick hug. Kori felt himself freeze up again as he watched Colin run towards the monster distracted by Hoz. He didn’t know what to do; he was too scared to move. He just wanted his papa.

Rela grabbed his arm and ran into the home, trying to move the boxes in front of the door while Kori stood there shaking. She shifted the home around to the best of her ability, straining to move the heavy boxes to the door.

“Kori, help me!” She cried, but Kori couldn’t move. Rela was only able to move a couple of boxes to the door, with a chair under the handle, and she finally pulled Kori into a cupboard, hugging him close as they stared wide-eyed in the darkness. Kori heard the muffled shouts of men along with roars from the monster. He cried quietly with his head against Rela’s, the sounds becoming agonizing to his long ears. It felt like hours that they were in the cupboard, fear of being found making Kori feel sick, but it eventually went silent. He glanced up and stared, straining his ears to hear something, anything. But it was silent.

“What is it?” Rela whispered, her voice shaking. Kori continued to listen, and he screamed when he heard loud banging on the door. Rela slapped her hand on his mouth and the two whimpered and shook as the banging continued. Kori curled further into Rela, trying to keep himself from sobbing. There was one more loud bang, then a crash of Rela’s makeshift barricade, then groans from two men.

“Rela? Kori?” The two heard Colin call out, and they scrambled out of the cupboard, ramming into Colin’s legs. Colin melted to the floor and hugged the two, a sigh of relief escaping him. “Thank the spirits,” he muttered in Rela’s hair.

“W-what happened?” Rela asked after pulling away. “Did you kill that monster?”

Colin sighed and shook his head. “No, but we led it away.”

“One of my men distracted it further into the woods,” Hoz continued to explain, staring anxiously out the door. “Glad to know that they’re useful for something.”

Colin gave him a look and stood up. “Shadow beasts are terrifying, give them more grace.”

“They are terrifying,” Hoz growled, stepping further into the home. “I fought them when they first invaded the castle ten years ago. I know how they work and what they are. But it is my duty to protect Hyrule, and it is their duty as well!” He turned away in a huff and looked outside again while Colin remained quiet. “I will not give them grace. If they didn’t want to be soldiers of Hyrule, then they should’ve stayed in the comfort of their home.”

Colin sighed and stood up. “Well, we’re not safe here. Let me take my sister and nephew back to Ordon, and I’ll help you chase after it.”

Hoz’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Very well. These young ones do not need to see such action.” He gave them a sympathetic look.

“Yeah, I saw a shadow beast when I was about nine,” Colin muttered, ruffling Kori and Rela’s hair. “It’s terrifying… I know it.”

Hoz hummed. “Yet you still came to my aid when my own men abandoned me.” he let out a chuckle. “You are the bravest man I’ve ever met.”

“O-Oh! W-well… I don’t know about that,” Colin laughed nervously, beginning to nudge Kori and Rela out the door.

“No, without a doubt. Your courage exceeds most of the soldiers of Hyrule! Have you ever considered joining the guard?”

Colin let out a sigh and drew his sword, watching the trees with unease as Kori and Rela stuck to his legs. “L-look, there are more important things right now.”

“Right,” Hoz cleared his throat and walked out of the house, his own sword drawn. “Let’s get these children home, then.”

The group quietly walked through the woods; despite it being light out, Kori couldn’t help but feel the danger of a shadow lurking in the corners. He kept his eyes sharp, looking for anything that moved. They reached the Faron spring and Kori hugged Colin’s legs tighter. It was uncomfortably silent, but from a distance, Kori heard the sounds of screams. Hoz seemed to pick up on it as well, and he looked around him, a worried look on his face. Colin and Rela seemed none the wiser, however, and they continued onward. A snap of a twig filled the air, and he felt Colin tense as a horse burst through the entrance with a distressed whinny.

“Penelope!” Hoz called out, and stopped her from charging, attempting to calm her down. But right behind the horse, a soldier came running before falling to the ground.

“C-captain!” He cried, and he screamed as he was pulled away. “Help me!”

Hoz ran to him, but he slipped from his fingers as the large shadow beast lifted the squirming soldier. Kori gasped when he saw other soldiers inside its abundant hands—one having two uncomfortably squished together. The shadow beast observed the soldier, but its gaze turned, and it fully faced Kori. Though it had no eyes, he could practically feel its gaze burning through him. He whimpered and hugged Colin tighter. Were they going to die?

The shadow beast dropped the soldier in its hand and charged at Kori. He let out a scream as Colin grabbed him and Rela and attempted to dodge the beast. They were successful in not being trampled, but the beast’s hand snagged Kori, and he laid in between the monster and Colin. He was frozen while laying on the ground, too scared to move and too scared to cry as the beast faced him again. It went in for another charge, but Hoz scooped Kori up and ran out of the way. Kori didn’t comprehend that he was being lifted onto the horse that charged through, and the captain dragged Colin and Rela to the horse as well.

“Young man, get to Castle town, tell Queen Zelda and King Edmund about this. I’ll hold it off.”

Colin climbed onto the horse with Kori in front and Rela behind, and he frowned at Hoz. “I can’t just leave you!”

“You must protect these little ones.” Hoz turned to see the shadow beast recovering from its second failure. The soldier it dropped earlier charged at it, and Hoz turned back to Colin. “What’s your name, young man?”

“I—Colin, sir.”

“I’ll never forget your courage, Colin. Now go! Tell her Highness about this!” Hoz hit Penelope’s behind and she took off running. Kori turned behind him to see Hoz draw his sword, facing the shadow beast with his one remaining soldier, the others remaining in its hands. Kori faced the front and let out a sob, wanting so badly to go back home to his stuffed animals with his papa and mommy holding him. Colin’s arms wrapped around him and he gave him a small peck on the head.

“It’ll be ok, Kori,” he said, his voice shaking as the horse ran through the woods, the trees looking like a blur of green and brown. Kori closed his eyes, praying to the light spirits and goddesses of Hyrule that he’d soon be waking up in his home, with this nightmare behind him.

[seventh-district]

not even gonna tag this properly bc i don't wanna get Involved but i do have some Thoughts i need to get out into the void so here we go

(aaa quick edit: CW for mention/discussion of Boothill leaks)

[rewritingcanon]

i remember when i first got into the hp fandom when i was first reading the books i was forcing myself to ship drarry because i wanted to bond with everyone else who was doing it ☠️☠️ i was so excited to get up to hbp to read all of the moments harry was apparently ‘obsessed’ with draco and when i finally read the book i was so damn disappointed 😭 like i open the book expecting drarry and get smacked in the face with HINNY?? yall are actual LIARS im sayinggg

[mariatesstruther]

okay hear me out modern au where Tommy and Maria first meet in a club in their 20s and they bump into each other while dancing and just start dancing together and they just hit it off but in the end they both forget to give each other their numbers so both of them go back to the same club the next week to hopefully meet each other again (also Tess and Maria definitely go clubbing together because I love them as best friends)

cowboy!!!! yes yes YES i LOVE this. and u could extend this meet-cute into like a whole thing where tommy and maria keep trying to meet at the club and exchange information, but something gets in the way everytime!!!! kid emergency!!! bar fight!!! cocaine bear on the loose!!! zombie apocalypse—who knows????

im thinking the first time, tess drags maria to a bar she likes because she’s been trying to get the attention of this hot dilfy guy at the bar, but he’s always tailing along with his friend. by tess’s design, maria and tommy meet and and hit it off and dance (to maria maria by santana) the night away. they fall in love and decide they want to go home together, so maria goes to the bathroom—but joel randomly comes up and is like “tommy, hey sorry selena’s mom called, sarah had a nightmare and she wants us both to pick her up, we gotta go” and in true miller dad-uncle panic they BOLT. by the time maria comes back, tess is like “idk dude, mine got a call so they had to go. seemed like an emergency. bummer” and they assume thats that

on the flip side: everythings okay with sarah, but after tommy and joel tuck her in tommy’s suddenly just like “fuck—fuck!!!!!” and joels like “what? what???” and he’s like “i didn’t get her number :(:(:(:( fuck” and so joel’s like “it’s okay, i see her friend there all the time” and so tommy’s like “omg :D do you have her friends number?” “well… no” “joel… what the fuck man.” so they make a plan to go back next week with the hopes of at least seeing tess and getting maria’s number from there—tommy also wants to get tess’s number for joel, but he doesn’t need to know that

little do THEY know, tess and maria are already plotting for next weekend. they show up to that bar looking fine as FUCK—they quite literally turn heads walking through the door. of course the miller brothers are there, sitting in a booth all the way in the back and waiting, making eyes. tess and maria are not shy, so they start making their way over. unfortunately, some drunk asshole decides to try to get handsy with tess on her way there—which results in her punching him in the face, which results in him trying to punch her in the face. she dodges, of course, but it starts a full-on bar brawl that the miller boys jump into without hesitation (joel manages to tackle and land a few good ones on og drunk asshole too so. slay.). none of them get arrested or anything, but they definitely don’t get eachother numbers on account of joel and tommy having to duck the cops

so i guess they gotta keep trying ;)

[lordsardine]

harbinger voice lines..............

[spicypussywave]

burning gmmtv building down if the next bl is not chimonperth (watch me eat my words

[kindahoping4forever]

i’ve come back to your high!luke story SO many times and i’ve never even considered myself a luke girl. i can’t wait for more of your luke fics, i think i’m discovering my luke thirst with you LMAO

Yay, I'm happy to hear it! I love that fic, I think @cal-puddies and I did a good job of bouncing pure unhinged thirst ideas off of each other and then going back to reign it in a bit and tell a good story😅

In fact, this ask comes at a great time because I just finished a fairly lengthy (and very filthy 👀) Luke fic... and now I'm in the process of trying to edit it down and figure out if it's too much to post 😂😂

[thickenmyblood]

what's wrong w king's rising

what isn't wrong with kings rising

[scribbledquillz]

I - I think I actually ended up finishing this chapter draft??? Already???

[milkbreadtoast]

Here's a v quick vague rushed half assed TWSB propaganda post

TWSB is a romance novel isekai subversion story. You know, the escapist genre that there r 2353533535 kr webtoons/novels for... i got reincarnated in my fav romance novel as the villainess yadayada THAT genre. but a twist on it!!!

TWSB is for fujoshi(fudanshi/fujin) who would rather ship the 2 male love interests in a romance than have a love triangle with the female lead... TWSB is also for poly/throuple/trio enjoyers (whether platonic or not ur choice). And old women yuri enjoyers. And people who enjoy novel isekai subversions like orv and surviving romance (and SVSS? i havent read but ive heard comparisons)... /ppl who think novel isekai premises Could be interesting but find so many of them boring cliche or wasted potential... and people who like fun worldbuilding... or ppl who r interested in the premise "typical shoujo romance novel plot gets derailed and ends up accidentally becoming a non-romance action fantasy which is also highkey extremely gay"..... *dangling a chocolate croissant in front of u* ooooh u want to read twsb so bad wooooo is it worki

(EDIT: oh to be clear im recommending the novel btw!! webtoon is cute but the novel is where u get the full experience 🛐 idc which one u start w but pls read the novel... hehe)

[knyplotrewrite]

Woo, 4/4 redone segments done

[cero-sleep]

The random y/n I drew for the spider boys looks too normal next to them svjsvhsjdv

Edit: they fit better now

Now the question is... wtf am I doing lmao