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Time yawned, stretching out his limbs with a slight flinch as his back cracked. With a satisfied sigh, he sat back down on a small log, began to sharpen his sword, and watched the just waking camp.
The sun was barely rising, splashes of pink and orange painting the foggy horizon as the sun first peeked out for the day. The camp was mostly quiet, aside from the occasional chirp of a bird or cricket or the rousing of one of his brothers in their sleeping rolls.
Time was just about to continue sharpening his sword when he heard a rustle followed by a sleepy voice muttering, “What time is it?”
Time looked up to see the sailor sitting up in his bedroll, his hair messy and tangled, his eyes bleary and still half-closed.
“Time?” Wind called quietly. The kid yawned and rubbed his eyes before quietly getting up, careful not to disturb any of the others. He made his way over to the log, and Time scooted over to give the kid more space.
“You’re up early,” he chuckled, giving Wind a sideways glance before continuing to sharpen his sword.
“Couldn’t sleep,” the sailor murmured, hugging his legs to his chest with another yawn.
“Hm,” Time hummed. “Want to play a little prank on the captain?”
The Chain had been travelling the eras, hopping portals and fighting monsters for the past week, and they’d had no time for any fun or leisure. It had been rough on everyone, but most of all it took a toll on Wind, since the kid was the most energetic and fun-loving. Time decided it wouldn’t hurt to spark up some fun between the others, especially since he knew that Wars wouldn’t truly be offended.
Wind instantly perked up, his hazel eyes fully awake with excitement. “What kind of prank?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Time said, inspecting his sword, and, once he was satisfied, slid it back into his scabbard. “Maybe a little something involving that Wind Waker of yours and the captain’s scarf.”
Wind stared at the Old Man for a second before giggling, pulling out the little silver baton out of his belt. “You mean this Wind Waker?”
Time remained silent, the only confirmation from him being the small upward curve of his lip. Wind snickered, sliding the wand back into his belt with an excited nod. He narrowed his eyes at the captain’s sleeping form, already plotting.
——-
Warriors trudged through the woods, grimacing each time his boots sank into the muddy forest floor with a squelch. He yawned, rubbing his face, before glancing back at the group behind him.
“Everyone good back there?” He called out. He met Time’s gaze, to which the Old Man gave a thumbs up before continuing on giggling about something with Wind. Odd, but Warriors was too tired to care.
“Wars?” The sailor whined a few moments later. “Can we stop for a second? We’ve been walking forever.”
Wars sighed, glancing back at the group. “Are you guys really that tired?”
“Yes,” complained Wind, along with half the rest of the Chain.
Wars rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine.”
Wind jumped up and let out a whoop, all exhaustion suddenly vanishing. The group quickly settled down under an overhanging rock a little ways off the main path.
“Don’t get too comfortable-“ Wars started, but was quickly cut off by Wild beginning to set up his cooking pot. Nevermind, then.
Wars sighed, turning around before calling out, “I’m going to go look for a stream or river” and heading off into the woods.
It wasn’t long before he heard what sounded like the faint rushing of a small creek. Ducking under a branch, he emerged into a small clearing and found his assumptions to be correct.
“Finally.” Wars kneeled down next to the stream and cupped some water in his hands before splashing it over his face. He tilted his head back with a sigh, savoring the cool goodness dripping from the tips of his bangs and down his chin.
He was about to get up and fill his flask when he heard a twig snap behind him. Wars whipped around, already in a defensive stance, eyes scanning the treeline. When he found nothing, he cautiously turned back to the creek.
Big mistake.
A gust of wind so strong it couldn’t have been natural slammed into his back, blowing his scarf right over his head. Wars panicked for a split second as he stumbled around blindly. Just as things seemed like they would calm down, Wars’s foot caught on a rock and sent him tumbling into the frigid water.
Wars let out a yelp and a curse as he was submerged for a moment before surfacing. He sat up in the shallow water and wiped his face to see in front of him.
He was met with the sailor standing a few feet from the edge of the creek, clutching a small silver wand and grinning deviously. And behind him stood the Old Man, leaning against a tree and doing his best to cover up a smirk.
“What the HELL, sailor?” Wars groaned, shivering as the icy water ran past, soaking him to the bone. He slowly stood up, checking for bruises or scrapes. He found none, but he wasn’t fully unscathed. After all, he was soaking wet in icy cold water.
Wars glared at Wind as he began to wring out his scarf, grimacing each time a concerning amount of water dripped out of the royal blue fabric.
“Oops?” Wind tried, hiding his Wind Waker behind his back. He tried to look innocent, but his wide grin gave him away.
“Ugh,” Wars shivered, stepping out of the creek. He looked up and down at Wind before smirking and dashing forward, grabbing the sailor by the torso. Wind squealed, trying to claw his way out of the captain’s hold.
“TIME! HELP ME!” Wind shrieked. “YOU TRAITOR!” The Old Man stayed by the tree, and it seemed like he was done trying to cover up his smirk, because his entire face was twisted up in a shit-eating grin.
“You never- AH!” Whatever the sailor was saying was quickly cut off as Wars flung the kid into the river. The high-pitched scream that followed was priceless.
“See how you like that, you little shit,” Wars sneered, purposely fixing his scarf as he stood over Wind, who was now sputtering in the river. Apparently he didn’t like that, because not even moments later something tugged hard on Wars’s scarf, sending him tumbling back into the creek.
Chilly water hit him once again, and as he surfaced he was met with giggles from the sailor. Wars dunked the kid down into the river, cutting off an indignant squawk and the sailor splashed around.
Time, to nobody’s surprise, was still standing by the trees, watching the chaotic situation with amusement.
“C’mon, Old Man!” Wind called between dunks. “Join in!”
Time rolled his eye before making his way over to the edge of the creek. “This is as far as I’m going.”
Wars glanced at Wind with a smirk, then nodded to the sailor. “On three. One, two-“
“Three!” Wind screeched. He leaned back and kicked his feet, sending a shower of frigid droplets raining down on the Old Man.
“You little-“ Time was done. He splashed into the river, toppling over from the current, but not before spraying the others with a taste of their own medicine.
The three of them laughed, continuing to splash water at and dunk each other under the surface.
And when they came back to camp half an hour later, sopping wet with grins on their faces, no one said a thing.