#guess he must be doing okay considering he was yapping up a storm

[drysaladandketchup]

EDM vs. VAN || May 10, 2024

[linerwriter]

Brood

I have an audition tomorrow and I stress wrote the rest of it (it helped, surprisingly)

This prompt was a mixture of two, from @anunashamednerdgirl and a mysterious anon. Hope you guys like it!

Word Count: 1298. For the @linkeduniverse AU. Enjoy!

(should I start putting summaries? I feel like I should)

Tweet, tweet, tweet…

Twilight paused, an ear cocked to listen to the melody being played. His eyebrow raised, he faced Wild with a questioning look on his face, “Any idea what’s going on?”

Wild had an amused look on his face as he answered, “Those are the Rito Sisters. They’re practicing their singing.”

“A concert?” Legend cut in. “Why’s that?”

“Like most Rito,” Wild turned toward the blond in question, “the Sisters love to show off, so they practice and invite people to listen in a wide, open space. It “helps” them get over their stage fright.”

Time chuckled, “Sounds like someone I know.” He glanced at Warriors out of the corner of his eye as everyone laughed.

Warriors rolled his eyes, making a yapping motion with his hand, “Yeah yeah yeah, laugh it up. Let’s see who looks nice when they’re old.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to look far,” Wild joked, “I mean, Twilight looks amazing!”

Twilight posed dramatically, “I do, don’t I?”

“I don’t act like that!”

“Yes, you do,” everyone droned with a smirk.

“Just face it, Warriors, you’re never gonna live it down,” Four drawled. Suddenly, a movement caught his, causing him to point upward, “Hey, are those the Sisters you were talking about earlier? The Roti or whatever?”

“Rito,” Wild shot a meaningful look at their companion, who shrugged, “And yes, they are. Hey, Kheel!” He shouted toward the top of the cliff.

The beautiful singing stopped in lieu of a flurry of fluttering. “Link? Is that you?” A sweet voice called down, followed by a lavender head popping out. At Wild’s wave, the face on the head brightened, turning back toward the other unseen birds. “Guys! It is Link!”

Gasps were heard, followed by a dive bomb of brightly colored fluff balls. The balls converged around Wild, jumping up and down and squawking wildly. Wild laughed, his arms raised up high as he twisted his body to look at them.

“Link! You’re back!”

“Did you hear us sing? Didja? Didja didja?”

“Can you get Kheel to end practice early? I’m tired!”

The others, meanwhile, were blown back at the amount of energy they just witnessed. Their eyes were wide, and they were bending back slightly to get away from the overabundance of positivity.

Finally, Twilight found his wits again, “Um, Wild? Mind introducing us?”

At that, the storm of feathers stopped, and as one, the sisters looked toward the group. Seeing the similarity between their friend and the newcomers, they looked back at Wild, then back at the group. This went on a couple more times until the lavender one spoke up.

“Link? Why are there more of you?”

Wild huffed out a laugh, “You guys remember the story of the hero from 10,000 years ago? These are other… versions, I guess, from different points in time.”

The blue one frowned. “How’d that happen?”

Wild hesitated, “We’re not really sure, to be honest. Magic?” That seemed to satisfy the chicks. “Anyway, I should probably introduce you guys.” One by one, he listed the Links to the girls, who watched them with curious eyes. After he finished, Kheel chirped,

“Hello! My name’s Kheel! And these are my sisters-”

“Genli!”

“Cree!”

“Notts.”

“And Knotts!”

“And together we form,” the girls spoke together, “the RITO SISTERS!”

The Links clapped politely as the birds bowed. “Well done,” Wild said from behind them. “I don’t suppose you’ve done anything new since I’ve been here?”

The sisters brightened and, as a unit, flew toward the trees. “May I present to you,” Genli swept her wing out, “the Rito Sisters! Ready, girls?”

What followed was an astonishingly beautiful song. There weren't any words, but the meaning behind it was there. By the end, all the Links (except Four) were in tears.

“That. Was. Amazing,” Hyrule cried out, “Bravo, guys, bravo!”

“I must agree with Hyrule,” Time said, wiping away a single tear, “You sure do know how to make someone feel.”

They blushed, scraping their talons on the ground. “Thank you, Mister Time,” Notts said.

“Kheel? Cree? Where are you?”

Suddenly, a voice came from above, sounding more mature yet similar to the sisters. Knotts groaned, “That’s Mom. We better go home.”

Genli pouted, “But we just met them!”

“Do you want to miss dinner?” Notts stared at her sister with distaste.

Kheel sighed, “Let’s just go. We’re down here, Mom!”

Amali stuck her head out, “Ah, there you are. Time to go home, dears.”

Groans. “We’re coming, Mom!”

Cree turned toward the Links as everyone else flew off, “It was nice to meet you guys! I hope we see each other soon!”

“C’mon, Cree, or else you won’t eat!”

“I’ll catch up, Mom, don’t worry!” Cree shouted back, “Goodbye!”

“Bye, guys!” Wind waved after them with a grin. “See you soon!”

As the family was flying off toward the village, Twilight stared after them with a hint of sadness in his eyes. Noticing this, Wild walked up to his mentor and stood beside him quietly.

“It’s amazing,” Twilight breathed out.

Wild shot him a questioning gaze, “What is?”

Twilight turned toward his friend, “This entire kingdom. I mean, the entire thing was destroyed a century ago and were nearly gone recently. And there are still people who hope for a better future,” he shook his head in disbelief, “Man, I kinda wish the people in my Hyrule were like this.”

Wild cocked an eyebrow, “So, you want your kids to be this hyper?”

Twilight rolled his eyes and shoved Wild, who was laughing, “You know what I mean. The innocence they have,” he shook his head again, “After everything this kingdom’s gone through, the children can still laugh and play like always.” He raised his arm toward his eyes to hide his tears.

Wild watched on, sadness plastered on his face. He gathered his friend into a hug, “I’m sure everything will get better when you return.”

“That’s just it!” Twilight cried out, “The kids in my Hyrule can never go back to this! Not after what happened, at least.” The last part was whispered quietly toward the ground.

“That may be true,” Wild conceded, “but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna be like that forever. It’s just as you said,” he swept his arm around the environment, “A hundred years ago, this wouldn’t have even been a possibility. But over time, the land healed, and with it, the people did as well.”

“Should I just give it time, then?”

“Partly, yes. But what you should be doing is understanding what happened, and moving on from it.”

“What?”

“Don’t forget what happened to you,” Wild urged, “Don’t forget what happened to them, to the rest of the world. Remember that. But,” he paused, “if you accept what happened, then you can learn how to move on from it, and start to heal.”

“Accept it?” Twilight shot a stricken look toward Wild, “How do I do that?”

“By doing exactly what it sounds like,” Wild answered, “Stop living in the past, Twilight. Know that you can’t change what happened, it’s set in stone. Look toward the future; strive to start that goal of hope being present.”

Twilight sniffled as he considered Wild’s words, “...Okay. I’ll try to do that.”

Wild’s expression softened, “That’s all I can ask for.”

“Hey! Crybabies!” Legend shouted from their camp, his hands raised around his mouth, “Dinner’s ready!”

Twilight’s nose crinkled, “Someone besides you made dinner? I find that hard to believe.”

Wild sighed, “There’s a first time for everything, I guess. Anyway,” he got up and offered his hand toward Twilight. “Let’s go back. Shall we?”

Twilight laughed, brighter and clearer than it had been in a long time, “We shall.” And together, they walked back, giggling and playing all the while.