Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wild watched as ‘Rulie once again called down a wealth of lightning with only his magic. As the rest of the monsters danced around on fire, he watched gleefully. The others often teased him for being a fire-loving arsonist; they didn't know that it rang true. Just then, he became aware of Sky tapping him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Wild. Are you alright? You're just…. standing there. Watching. Does ‘Rulie need to check you out?” Wild turned to his brother’s worried face and shook his head, smiling gently.

“I’m fine, Sky. I just like watching the monsters burn.” He giggled. “The way they dance is hilarious.” Sky gave him a look that said, ‘I’m questioning your sanity, but I already know I won't like the answer’. Thankfully, he moved on to mothercuccoing Twilight, who had gotten hit once and was stuck defending himself to the chosen.

Wild went back to thinking, looking around. He didn't recognize this Hyrule, but maybe one of the others would. They had been dumped out of the portal, straight into a monster camp. Pour Four had to be dead inside, what with his nausea and then fighting a camp. He kept thinking for a few more minutes, waiting for the others to sort themselves out. Time finally stood up with a groan, his joints creaking and cracking. Wind let out a giggle before falling silent as Time began to speak.

“Does anyone recognize this Hyrule?” There was a resounding ‘no’ to that question. Warriors took the lead next.

“So…this is an in-between, probably. Does anyone see any landmarks?” Again, there was a wave of ‘no’s’. Warriors sighed. “Alright. Let’s start walking. See if we can find a village or something before nightfall.” Amid the grumbles, they started walking. Wild slipped back into his thoughts, barely noticing that the others were tripping and stumbling where he wasn't. He noted it, of course, but he knew why the others were tripping where he was not. He was, after all, as Zelda said, ‘An Eldritch Godling’. He had pondered what that meant for a while before asking Zelda.

It just meant he was some kind of Baby Nature Deity.

His thoughts turned to Hyrule. 'How had he done that? That amount of power… I’ve only seen it in deities and…..fairies…wait. Is ‘Rulie a fairy?' He chewed on that thought for a while. 'It would make sense… he tends to never speak ill of the fairies. He never lies if he can help it. He loves sweet foods, to a weird extent. He loves mischief and fun and exploring. He hoards shiny things and secrets. He is a fairy.' He continued to think. 'How should I ask? Does Legend know? No, off track. Um, maybe I should just… ask.' Finally, the group stopped in a clearing, just as the sun went down, Wild resolved to ask Hyrule later. He would ask to go exploring with him.

As the sun went down, the chain quickly set up camp. A fire was set and Wild began to cook. He made a quick dinner, and as the chain was eating, he caught ‘Rulie’s eye and gestured to the forest. Hyrule nodded and both of them scarfed down their meals before slipping out of the camp.

They made it about fifteen minutes away, occasionally pausing to show off frogs or shiny bugs. Wild watched Hyrule and noticed that he would slip shiny rocks into his pocket and shiny bugs into bottles. Eventually, they came to a medium-sized hill. Wild and Hyrule exchanged looks and wordlessly, in tandem, pulled out their shields. Hiking to the top was a short affair, only taking one or two minutes. For the next half hour or so, they shield-surfed (Wild), shield-sat, and tumbled (Hyrule) down the hill, before going back up. Eventually, though, Wild worked up enough courage to ask Hyrule.

He sat down, patting the forest floor next to him. Hyrule gave him a weird look but obliged. They sat there for a minute, not saying anyway. Eventually, Wild exhaled.

“‘Rulie, I have a question. You don’t have to answer, but I just want to ask. Ok?” Hyrule gave him a weird look, but nodded.

“Sure, ask away.” Wild exhaled again.

“Alright. I’m going to say it outright. ‘Rule, are you… a fairy, or part fairy?” Hyrule froze at Wild’s words, seemingly having nothing to say. After a beat, he opened his mouth.

“W-what? How-how did you…?”

“Figure it out?” Wild took Hyrule’s hands gently. “You have too much magic for someone who just learned somehow. You like sweet things to a weird amount. You try not to lie. You’re fun and mischievous. You’re kind. You specialize in healing magic. I just…put the pieces together.” Hyrule regarded Wild with wide eyes.

“It’s that obvious?”

“I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Time might know, and Legend probably knows-?”

“Yeah, he does.”

“-but I don't think anyone else even has an inkling.” Wild thought for a moment. “Maybe Four. Sometimes, he’s freakishly smart.”

Hyrule nodded in agreement. “Oh, totally. He changes on a whim, though.”

Wild nodded, then stood and offered a hand to Hyrule. Hyrule took it, gratefully hoisting himself to his feet. Hyrule looked down at said feet, studying them intensely.

“Would you…mind not mentioning this to the others? You can talk to Legend, just…not the others. Please?”

Wild smiled gently and agreed. “Of course, ‘Rulie. I promise. Let's keep going before Wolfie finds us, okay?”

Hyrule grinned. “Yes, let’s.”

They spent more time. Hyrule got steadily more proficient and better. Eventually, he wasn’t sliding down or tumbling into ditches anymore. They had a couple of quick races, and Wild won each one. By the last one, though, Hyrule was catching up, and it was close.

They trudged back up for one last race. Hyrule had just gotten on his shield, and Wild was ready to jump, when Wolfie appeared. He startled Hyrule so badly that the poor boy fell and started going down the hill. Yelping, Wild shot Wolfie an apologetic look for a split second before jumping on his shield and speeding after his fellow hero.

When he got to the bottom, he had to stifle a giggle. Hyrule had leaves and twigs in his hair and grass and dirt everywhere. A glance at himself showed Wild that he was equally, if not more, mussed up. Wild held out his hand and once again helped Hyrule to his feet. They stood there for a moment before promptly bursting into gales of laughter.

They were both clutching their stomachs when Wolfie came bounding down the hill. He gave them an oddly Hylian look of disappointment. Wild and Hyrule’s laughter petered out, and they followed Wolfie when he flicked his head. They trudged back to the camp in dejected silence. When they got there, they endured the lectures. The hours of lectures. Twilight came back around half an hour in, and Wolfie had left sometime before that. Then the others left the lecturing to Twilight (Wild) and Legend (Hyrule).

After the lectures, when the moon was high in the sky and it was Wild’s turn to watch, Hyrule smiled at him and delved into his bedroll, quickly falling asleep with the others. Wild smiled and stoked the fire.

Chapter Text

Some of the headcanons:
1. Wild is actually intelligent. Sure, he does things on almost-whims, but they're pretty well thought out in the milliseconds before
2. Wild and Flora are both immortal.
3. Flora is a minor deity (from the gradual exposure to small amounts of divinity as a dragon)
4. Wild is an Eldritch Godling (Baby nature god) from his time spent BATHED (this mf was sooo close to Hylia the entire time) in divinity
5. It has been 40 years since Wild woke up (he died at 19 but stopped aging at 16 due to *Child Soldiering*)(He is 159)
6. Flora is about 11158 (She was 17 when the calamity happened, then spent a year in the past before spending about 11,000 years as a dragon)

Timeline thing:
I'm going to explain how I think the timeline worked

SKY
^
FOUR
^
TIME
^

TWILIGHT
^
WIND
^
LEGEND
^

HYRULE
^

WARRIORS
^

Zonai Time

UNKNOWN HERO
^

WILD

Recap- Sky then Four the Time
Timeline one: Wind
Timeline two: Twilight
Timeline three: Legend then Hyrule

Warriors is after the timelines merge

The Zonai time

Unknown Hero

Wild

Other information:
Legend and Fable are siblings
As much as I like Four/Shadow, they are not a thing

LET ME KNOW IF THERE IS ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

Chapter Text

Wild knew Legend had secrets. Everyone in the chain did. You couldn’t meet the guy without being painfully aware of this fact. He was a thorny ball of secrets, walls, and snark.

There were three that stood out to Wild. He was sure that nobody else noticed these bigger secrets, just thought he had lots and lots and lots of small secrets. The three that seemed big, though, were probably impossible for the others to realize existed.

Maybe Four. Four was weird.

Secret number one appeared to be strictly magic-related. Legend was surrounded by an aura that felt like water, but it was…dark. Like a curse. Secret number two and secret number three were more interesting, funnily enough. Legend had two soul tethers.

One of them was similar to one that Sky had. Wild had seen it before they had gone to Skyloft for the first time, but didn’t know who it was shared with. (He thought it was Sun but wasn’t sure). The shimmering golden, minutely fine thread had just been curving up towards the sky, then…disappearing. However, once they got to Skyloft and met Sun for the first time, he had seen the thread connecting her and Sky. Thus, he was in a similar situation with Legend’s. It was obviously a romantic tether, but he didn’t know the nature of the relationship with the other, nor who the unknown was.

The second tether was a shiningly bright silver. Wild had figured out it was a family tie the second time they had gone to Legend’s Hyrule.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------
The first time they were in Legend’s Hyrule, they were barely there for a day. They had been launched into a forest in a secluded corner, about 20 minutes away from the camp of monsters they had to kill. They had finished the camp within an hour, and wandered around for a couple more before a new portal had appeared. Wild had noticed the tethers had been curving in different directions to places far away. They had left before he could ask the veteran, however, and it had slipped Wild’s mind.

This time, the second time in his Hyrule, they had landed close to the castle. Wild noted that the golden thread was curving away in the direction of Hyrule field. However, his attention was taken by the fact that the silver one was leading right to the castle.

As they crossed the final stretch to the castle gate, the soldiers guarding the gate noticed Legend. The first one spoke up.

“P-Uh, Sir Link. It’s been a while.” Legend nodded in response.

Wild wondered briefly what the soldier was about to say, but Legend started talking and he had to tune back in. Legend’s voice was a mediocre bit warm as he addressed the two.

“Indeed. I haven’t seen you two since season two. Which season is it now, Peitri? Geraid?” The two guards exchanged looks. The orange-haired one spoke first.

“It’s season one, Sir.”

Legend shrugged. “Thank you, Geraid.”

The other one (Wild was pretty sure it was Peitri) shared a look with Geraid and opened his mouth.

“If you don’t mind me asking, where have you been, Sir?” Legend waved his hand vaguely.

“Abroad.” The two guards nodded as if this made sense. Wild supposed it was. After all, as far as he knew, the veteran had been on 6 adventures. It seemed that the guards knew this, too.

As the two ushered the group through the gate, Wild couldn’t help but exhale. Much like the others’ castles, it was huge, grand, opulent, and regal. His was a charred, ruined, floating mess.

They walked through the hallowed halls, footsteps echoing on the stone floor. They wandered down a maze of pathways, led by the Link of this Hyrule. Wild couldn’t help but notice the silver tether getting shorter and shorter. Legend was silent as he led them to the throne room. They stopped just in front of the sumptuous ornamental doors. Legend turned to them.

“As you guys know, my Zelda’s nickname is Fable. She is a princess still. Do not do stupid things.” He gave Wind a hard look. The teen gave Legend an innocent look, and the latter groaned. “Do not speak unless spoken to.” Again, he looked at Wind, who again gave the same innocent face. Legend pinched the bridge of his nose. “Got it? Any questions? Fable knows her nickname.” Everyone shook their heads. Legend turned and opened the doors.

Fable was sitting on the throne. She looked vaguely like all the other Zeldas, with the same features. Same eye shape, skin color, hair color. But there were subtle differences. Such as her face shape. A face shape that looked suspiciously like… Legend’s.

Wild blinked as the pieces clicked into place. The silver tether was strung between Legend and Fable. They looked somewhat the same. They were siblings. Wild filed that information away to chew on later.

Fable finished her talk with the elderly woman at her right. She glanced up and noticed them, her eyes sweeping over them before zeroing in on Legend. Her face lit up and she smiled.

“Link.” In one smooth movement, she uncoiled her body from the throne and slid off it. In a few effortless strides, she crossed the room and swept Legend into a hug. They held on for a few moments before parting. Zelda raised one eyebrow primly.

“And where have you been?” Legend groaned but nevertheless told the whole story. The portals, the fighting, the other Links. When he finished, she strode back to the throne and settled back down. She sighed.

“I gathered as much from your letters.” She sighed again, softer. “Hylia wants you to do another thing.” Legend nodded.

“Unfortunately, Your Highness.” Fable whipped her head up from where she had been hanging it, looking defeated.

“Fuck you, Link.” Her gaze was smoldering and she hoisted a throw pillow from the throne and chucked it at Legend. He dodged but looked smug. The rest of their time there had consisted of talking to villagers and fighting the black-blooded monsters.

Wild had thought about the new information for a while, and decided to ask the veteran after he figured out the golden tether and at the same time ask about the water curse.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------

And now, they were in his Hyrule for a third time. Much like the first time, they were in a forest. Unlike last time, however, they had just been at Wind’s house. So it wasn’t a weird thing to ask the question he was going to. They had been sitting in silence after walking for a couple hours. They had recently finished dinner. Wild looked up.

“Hey, Ledge. Do you have a house?” Everyone looked up and stared at Legend when Wild asked his question. Legend shrugged.

“Yeah. I share a house with my roommate, in Hyrule field. That direction. He’s a merchant” He waved his hand vaguely to the southeast. The conversation moved on, the others asking Legend questions and then telling stories.

Wild, however, thought. Because when Legend had waved his hand, he waved it in the direction of the tether. ‘So. Legend was romantically involved with this roommate. It’s either his Boyfriend or Husband.’ All at once, he remembered something else he had noticed.

One of Legend’s rings wasn’t magic. It was…normal. And he grabbed it, sometimes, when he was lost in thought. Like Time did. When thinking of Malon. Legend was married to this roommate.

Much like ‘Rulie, he resolved to ask when he was alone with him.

The opportunity presented itself before long. They had stopped and made camp after walking after a portal switch. They needed wood for a fire.

Wild was about to just volunteer one of his 999 bundles in his pad (sue him, he's a hoarder) when Time sleepily called out.

“Wild, Legend. Go get some wood please.” He and Legend shared a look and trudged off. They git about 15 minutes away when Wild deemed it safe to ask questions. He turned to Legend.

“Hey Vet?” The man in question hummed. “I have a couple questions. You don't have to answer, I'm just going to ask.” Legend narrowed his eyes.

“Alright. Shoot.” Wild cleared his throat.

“There's three. Are you related to Fable?” Legenf stumbled.

“How did you….”

“Figure it out? You guys have the same face shape. Same body type. Same hair color.” Legend sighed.

“Yes, we are related. What's your second question?” Wild rubbed his neck.

“Do you…have a husband?” Legend made a surprised sound and regarded Wild with wide eyes.

“How in the…”

“You have a nervous habit like Time's. And you mentioned a roommate once.” Legend scrubbed his face.

“There's obviously more, but I don't really want to know the details of how you know. What's the third question?” Wild avoided Legend’s eyes.

“Are you…cursed? In any way? Possibly water related?” This time, Legend sat down. Wild heard him muttering under his breath.

“How the…What the…” Wild rushed to reassure him.

“You don't have to answer. It's okay not to.” Legend shook his head slowly.

“Champ. I was cursed by a merperson. I touch water and I have a tail. No more questions about it, please.” Wild nodded.

“We should get back. However, we need wood. I'm going to show you something. Don't mention it to the others.” Once Legend nodded, he pulled out his pad and tapped it. Two bundles of wood appeared. Legend stared at it.

“Are you sure?” Wild laughed.

“Oh yes, I'm sure. I have, like, 997 more.” Legend stared at him.

“Not going to ask.” Wild snorted.

“A wise decision. Wait, are you a prince?” Legend gave Wild a withering glare.

“Drop. It.” Wild snickered but complied, and the two started walking back towards camp.

They got there, started the fire, and after dinner was done both went to bed.

Chapter Text

Wild had known something was up with Twilight and Wolfie. He would have had to be stupid not to see that there was something else in his mentor’s relationship with his ‘pet’ wolf.

And Wild knew he wasn’t stupid. Zelda and Purah had said so.

But he didn’t know what. And he couldn’t ask his brothers; they all obviously knew nothing. Sometimes, his brothers could be buffoons. Most of the time, they were just blind idiots.

Except Four. He still hadn’t figured out Four’s deal. He was thinking multiple personality disorder, but he wasn’t sure.

So Wild did what Wild did best. He listened to Zelda. Or, in this case, her advice. Make a list.

1. Twilight leaves, and Wolfie comes
2. Wolfie leaves, and Twilight comes
3. Never together
4. Same green color string (around their soul)
5. Twilight has some kind of dark curse
6. So does Wolfie
7. Same markings

Wild stared at the list. He had no idea what Twilight's secret was. They could have been soul-bonded, but there wasn't a tether, not like with Sky or Legend. Wolfie could be a curse that Twilight figured out how to use, but he wasn’t overtly dark magic, either. Twilight could transform into Wolfie sometimes?

But that's a stupid idea.

So what was it?

—------------------------

It was night when Wild finally figured it out. Twilight had taken first watch. Wild had second. (And third, unofficially. Time never assigned anyone after him when he realized Wild just wouldn't wake them up.) Once everyone had gone to bed but Wild, he turned to Wild.

“I'm going to patrol the perimeter. I'll be back in time for your shift. Alright?” Once Wild had nodded, the older (younger) man had walked into the forest. Minutes later, Wild felt a surge of dark shadow magic. Minutes after that, Wolfie walked into camp. As always, he trotted in on silent paws. A feat, for Wolfie was nearly half Wild’s height (who was 5’8) and double his weight. Wild took a moment to look him up and down. He seemed to be limping slightly, much like Twilight was, and had minutely labored breathing, much like Twilight.

(Wild quietly added another tally for the ‘Soul Bond’ theory.)

Wolfie’s string was glowing its bright green, same as always. His shaggy fur, a deep gray color with lighter spots, seemed to be as untangled as it got. Wild nodded, feeling satisfied that Wolfie was fine. He patted the ground next to his feet, and Wolfie sauntered over and flopped on Wild’s foot. They stayed like that for a while. Hylian and Wolf. Deity and Beast.

Eventually, when the moon was high in the sky and Wild's pad said it was about 1:55, Wolfie got up off Wild's foot and stretched, powerful muscles rippling and joints cracking. He ambled over to the edge of the clearing and took one last look back before disappearing into the underbrush. Barely 5 minutes later, Twilight came strolling out of the forest. He nodded to Wild and walked over.

“Hey, Champ. Perimeters clear. I'm relinquishing my watch to you.” Wild nodded.

“Good night, Twi.”

“Good night, Wild.” Twilight trudged over to his bedroll and flopped into it, asleep as soon as he was in it. Wild barely held back a snort, letting a small snicker out instead. He leaned back on the log and lost himself in his thoughts. His mind whirring, he struggled to make sense of Twilight's secret. Shifting through memories, he discarded theory after theory, until…

It clicked. It was like a light switch was flipped. One second, he had no idea, and the next, he was circling back to a long-discarded theory. 

‘What if… Twilight is Wolfie, and Wolfie is Twilight? No… It's a stupid theory. Isn’t it? But it would make sense…

Wild thought about it for hours, past when the slate said it was 5:00 am, and Wild moved to the fire and the pot to make breakfast. Past when Time woke up, and Wild nodded at him. He had to stop thinking about it when the next person, Wind, woke up, because the young teen loudly asked what was for breakfast and caused Hyrule and Legend to both grumble. Wild neatly filed his thoughts away for later, like Zelda had taught him.

Wild laughed and talked with everyone as they woke up. He engaged with the group over breakfast and while they were walking to the next area. Once they settled down for the night, Wild quickly volunteered for second shift (and third) and Twilight snatched up first. Time gave them both a look™ but dropped it.

After dinner, Wild waited while everyone settled down. It took a while, but finally everyone was asleep, and Wild was sure it would be fine to speak without risk of anyone eavesdropping. He sat down next to Twilight on the log they had found in the clearing. Twilight opened his mouth, likely to say something about leaving to patrol, but Wild quickly and quietly interrupted. 

“No, Twi. I want to talk to you about something. Stay here.” Twilight gave him a confused look but complied. Twilight then tilted his head, brow raised.

 “Alright, Champ. What’s on your mind?” Wild took a deep breath and immediately regretted not planning this better. 

“Sooo… okay. I’ve been thinking-don’t laugh!” Wild glared at his mentor.

“That’s never a good idea with you,” Twilight said, fighting a grin.

“I’m serious!” Wild said, pointing at him. “No laughing. I’ve been— uh— observing. You. And Wolfie.” Twilight blinked. 

“Observing?” Wild nodded.

“Yeah. In, like, a scientific way. Totally normal. Zelda-approved.” Twilight snorted, knowing full well what Flora was like.

“That’s not ominous at all.” Wild grabbed his slate and flicked to the journal section as he flipped Twilight off.

 “See, I made a list.” Wild stated this without looking up, still scrolling for the entry.

“Oh boy,” Twilight muttered, smiling already.

“So! You leave, Wolfie shows up. Wolfie leaves, you show up. You both limp the same way sometimes, you both breathe funny after fighting, same markings, same weird green glowy stuff—”

“Green glowy stuff?” Twilight asked, clearly trying not to laugh.

“Don’t interrupt! I’m very bad at explaining, and you’ll distract me!” Wild snapped, waving his hand dramatically. “So I’ve been thinking, right? What if… and this is gonna sound crazy… you and Wolfie are, uh, the same person?” There was a long pause. Twilight just stared at him, lips pressed together, unreadable. Then, to Wild’s utter dismay, Twilight tilted his head — the same way Wolfie did when someone asked him if he wanted food.

“Person?” Twilight muttered, confused, then fell silent for a longer pause.

“Yeah,” Twilight said suddenly, finally deciding that apparently there was no way out. “You got me.” Wild blinked. Once. Twice. 

“Wait, what? That easy?” Twilight shrugged casually, like they were talking about the weather. “Yeah. Wolfie’s me.” Wild’s jaw dropped. 

“You’re serious? Just like that?”

“Mhm.” Twilight leaned back on the log, smirking faintly. “You know, you’re pretty smart when you want to be. Makes me wonder how the others haven’t realized that.” Wild stared at him, speechless for a moment before throwing both hands in the air. “I knew it! You had me doubting myself for days, you— you— wolf-man!”

Twilight burst out laughing, shoulders shaking. “Wolf-man? Really?”

“I panicked! Do you know how crazy I sounded saying it out loud?” Twilight’s grin grew.. 

“Yeah. Like Flora, or Purah.” Wild huffed, crossing his arms, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. 

“You could’ve just told me.” He turned his nose up, dramatic and petulant, like a child, but it was clear he was smiling.

“And miss the look on your face right now?” Twilight snorted. “Not a chance, Cub.” Wild groaned, flopping dramatically against the log. 

“You’re the worst.”

“Maybe,” Twilight said, amused. “But you’re the one who made a list about it.” Wild cracked one eye open. 

“Yeah, and it was a good list.”

Twilight snorted again. “Can’t argue with that. But, seriously, you’re really smart, you know that?” He looked over to Wild, who was now covering his face with both hands and looked flaming red.

“Shh! No, I’m not.” Twilight snorted. 

“Sure. What’s the green-glowy thing?” Wild groaned. 

“Shut up, Twi. Drop it. I won’t speak of this again unless it comes up naturally in conversations, and you won’t mention your idea that I’m somehow smart or the green thing again, got it?” Twilight snorted. 

“Sure. I’m going to bed now. Goodnight, Wild.” Wild waved to him.

“Goodnight, Twi. Sleep well.” Twilight collapsed into bed, and the world fell silent.

Chapter Text

As the sun came up, Four watched it. He had woken about an hour before, according to Vio. Speaking of-

I wonder who Legend is married to. 

Four sighed before letting his consciousness splinter inside his mind. Vio immediately opened his mouth, but Blue interrupted him. 

Shut up with your conspiracies, Dipshit.

Make me, Blue. 

Vio bristled cooly. Red tittered nervously as Green pinched his nose.

Guys, guys, please don’t fight. It makes me nervous.

Blue whirled around the mindspace, opening his mouth to tell Red something rude. Before he could, though, Green calmly reached out his mind and smothered Blue under a pile of chartruce.

Vio, stop antagonizing Blue. Blue, stop being rude. Don’t bite me. You’re making Red upset.

Shut it, pukey. I don’t need your feedback, so I will bite you if I feel like it!

I don’t like agreeing with him over there, but he’s right. Shut your mouth, Green. Also, Blue, it’s not ‘so I will’, it’s ‘and I will’. Fix your grammar.

Oi! Shut it, you ass-backwards walking encyclopedia with no off button! Nobody cares about grammar nowadays anyway.

Stop fighting, both of you! Please!

Alright. Sorry, Red. Truce, Blue? Red needs t-

“-ur? Four? Hellooooo~! Are you there?” Wild was waving his hand in front of his face. Four brought his shattered consciousness back together quickly. He glanced up at Wild. The cook looked worried. Four smiled.

“Yeah. What’s up?” Wild gave him a disbelieving look. 

“You’ve been staring at the distance for over ten minutes.” Four shrugged. He replied as he stood up, Wild helping to haul him up. 

“It’s fine. I was just thinking.” Four stretched, joints popping. Wild hummed as he moved over to the cooking pot, ingredients materializing from blue strings.

“About what? It must have been a good mystery to make you focus that hard.” Four snorted. 

“Legend. Do you think he’s married? And if so, who do you think it’s to? It’s not Zelda. I gotta think more. Just ignore that, don’t think about it, and don’t mention it, okay? I don’t want to set Legend off, that would be mean. Also, it would be bad for group dynamics. I don’t really care what you think; it’s my thoughts. Just ignore what I’ve said.” Wild blinked at the onslaught of words. Then the premise caught up to him, and he snorted, putting down what he was holding in favour of clutching his side as he laughed. 

“I- I promised Lege- Legend that I would- wouldn’t say this but- but I’m not say- saying everything. He- he is married.” Wild continued wheezing, unaware that he had just set Vio off again, and the lavender colour was trying to break apart the consciousness again to rant at Blue. Wild’s wheezes eventually tapered out, and he began measuring and stirring stuff, so when Four said he was going for a walk, the cook just nodded in answer and let Four go. As soon as he was out of sight, Four climbed the nearest tree and let his mind split into four. 

—--------------

Wild watched Four go, pondering what was up with the older-younger man. Sometimes, Four acted weird. Wild thought about it as he went back to cooking. Four did act weird sometimes, though. Different personalities, different likes. Sometimes he was analytical and liked purple, sometimes he was calm and liked green. His soul also looked like a poorly made painting, with the same four colors splotched everywhere.

Now that he was thinking about it, he should make a list. That would be what Zelda would say to do, and she’s always right. Wild quickly got breakfast to a place where it would just simmer for a while before sitting back. In a flash, he had the pad on his lap, journal heading open. He quickly flipped to where he had his previous list, the one for Twilight. Wild very quickly made a new one.

After an hour, a little while before Time would be back from patrolling with Twilight, he had a pretty good list of contradictions. The list looked a bit like this.

Four

1. Favourite colour changes on a whim.
2. The handwriting changes, too.
3. So does his default face.
4. His vocabulary changes day-to-day.
5. His mood shifts a lot.
6. He has different habits all the time.
7. His soul looks like a kindergarten painting.

Much like with Twilight, Wild sat and stared at the list for a while, pondering. He tucked it away when Twilight and Time came back, quietly serving them breakfast, then the others as they all woke up. He didn’t say anything to Four when the latter came back, either, just handed him breakfast. He didn’t bring the list back out until they had stopped for the night and had gotten the camp set up. Everyone went to bed, recognizing this was an openly no-sleep night for Wild, and he would take all the watch shifts. Then he brought it out and stared at the list. 

Wait. Wild had- Wild had a thought. An impossible thought. What if Four was four people in one body? Wild blinked at his own handwriting, tilting his head.

“Four… four people,” he mumbled under his breath. “That’d be stupid. Right?”

He squinted at the page again. The words didn’t change. The more he stared, the more they made sense.

He started flipping back through his list. “Favourite colour changes… handwriting changes… mood changes…” he read softly, dragging a finger down the page. “Maybe not mood swings, maybe… mood owners?”

He frowned. “No, that sounds dumb.”

Still, his mind whirred. The way Four sometimes spoke with a refined, clipped tone. Or when he got all quiet and peaceful, hands working steadily and softly, then turned loud, brash, all elbows and teasing. Wild could practically see childness every time Four’s face lit up at something small and happy, like a firefly or a perfect rock.

Wild sat back, eyes wide.

“Okay. But that would mean Four isn’t… one person. He’s… four of them.” He said it like saying it out loud might make it less weird. It didn’t. “Four people. In one. Which would make him—” He paused, looking up at the sky.

“Huh. His name actually makes sense.” Wild leaned back against the bark of the tree he was sitting in front of, giggling silently, before resigning himself to his fate. The rest of the night was spent trying to figure out how to talk to Four about it.

—----

Much like with Legend, his chance came because of pure chance. It had been a bout a week, and Wild still hadn’t asked Four. As they set up camp, his thoughts were sent to a halt once Time spoke.

“Wild, Four, go patrol.” The two grumbled, as was expected, but both got up and walked into the forest. They walked for a while in comfortable silence, the forest soft and dark around them. Wild kept glancing at Four every few minutes, chewing on his lip, the words practically buzzing in his head.

He’d spent a week thinking about this. He’d made three new lists. He’d crossed out “mood owners” twice, then added them back in like an indecisive bokoblin (that was a funny story when Wild saw that).

Now Four was right there, lantern light catching on his hair — and Wild still hadn’t figured out how to start.

“Uh. Hey, Four?” Four hummed, eyes scanning the trees.

 “Yes?”

“So, um… I have a question.”

“That’s not surprising,” Four said mildly. “You usually do.” Wild huffed, fiddling with the edge of his tunic. 

“Yeah, but this one’s… different.” Four turned slightly to look at him. 

“Different how?”

“Well, it’s kinda weird,” Wild said quickly. “But that’s not a bad thing! Just… weird-weird. Not bad-weird. I mean, maybe a little bad—well, no, actually, I don’t think it’s bad at all—”

“Wild,” Four interrupted, patient but already tired. “The question?”

“Right! Okay. So… are you… four people?”

Four froze mid-step. The silence stretched. Crickets chirped. A distant owl hooted, unhelpfully.

“…Pardon?”

Wild gestured vaguely. “Like—like inside your head! There’s… you-” Wild gestured to Four’s physical form “-obviously, but also maybe an angry you, and a calm you, and a nice  you, and a smart one who also sounds fancy.” Four blinked. 

“You’ve… been spying on my mind? Wild. Can you read my mind?!”

“No! No-no-no. I don’t do that.” Wild waved both hands quickly. “It’s just—you act different sometimes! And your handwriting changes, and you talk like four different people, and your face kinda does that thing where it’s the same but not—like, you’re still Four, but you’re, like, Four-four.”

Four stared at him, mouth slightly open. Then he rubbed his face with both hands, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like ‘Why the fuck haven’t I realized Wild would figure it out first?’. Finally, Four sighed and looked back at him. 

“Yes, Wild. You’re… correct.” Wild’s eyes went huge. 

“I am?!”

“Yes. I’m four people. Technically, one person split into four. The… division never entirely went away.”

“That’s—” Wild stopped, grinning so wide it almost hurt. “That’s awesome! Like, actual magic! I knew I wasn’t crazy! Zelda said to make lists, and I did, and it worked!” Four just stared at him for a long moment, trying to decide if he was supposed to feel relieved or deeply concerned. 

“…You made a list?”

“Two and a half!” Wild chirped. “Oh, wait—you wanna know which of you I guessed right? The one who likes purple is the smart, fancy-sounding one, the one who likes blue is grumpy and loud, the one who likes green is calm, and the one who likes green is—uh—happy? Adorable? Kinda skittish but in a nice way?” Four pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“That… is disturbingly accurate. How did you get it?” Wild beamed.

“You go in your head sometimes. You can act fancy then happy. Like, if Purah went from being her to being Sidon, sorta. Now, it can also be like Zel being Zel, then being-” Wild continued rambling on, oblivious to Four’s silence. Four rubbed his eyes, smoothly cutting into Wild’s torrent of words..

“Okay. Alright. I’m guessing you’ve figured out Legend’s secrets, and because of what you said earlier, I’m guessing he made you promise to shut up, right?” Wild quieted, nodding at Four. Four sighed.

“The, can you promise not to tell anyone? Noone. Not Time. Not even Twilight.” Wild pursed his lips but nodded. 

“Sure, Four. Tell you what. Because you seem rattled, and I know you like info and are currently trying to figure out everyone’s secrets, I’ll give you one question about any secret. I won’t reveal too much, but I think it would help. So, fire away?” Four regarded him with Wide eyes, and in under a second, a question was asked.

“What is the nature of Legend’s relationship with Fable?” Wild pursed his lips again, trying to answer the question but be vague at the same time.

“Familial.” Four took the answer, and the two finished the patrol in semi-silence, Wild humming a tune and Four stewing over his new information. They got back to the camp and reported to Time. Wild went to cook dinner, and Four went to think in a figurative corner (under a tree) and pretend to read. 

—--

As he sat down, pretending to be fine and reading and not stuck with his thought in a loop, he couldn’t help but embrace it and wonder over it. Vio seemed extremely stuck on it.

Why could Wild figure it out, and what was his secret?

The only reaction Vio got was from Blue, as Red was trying to sleep in a corner, and Green just sighed and pinched his nose, ignoring the idiots he called brothers. 

Shut up with your goddessdamned conspiracies, you ass-backwards, fopdoodle, yellow-bellied, highcourt, annoying-ass, shoddycracy charlatan with stupid schemes and stupid thoughts-

Blue would have gone on had Green not smothered him with another blanket of emerald. Said color just sighed and rubbed his temples.

Outside, the body known as Four smiled at the antics of his consciousnessess.