Chapter Text
Twilight looked around bewildered. The portal had transported them as they had expected, but the place where the blue light dropped them off was not where they expected nor was it where they wanted to be. They had expected, well Twilight had expected, to be left outside the dungeon or somewhere close to it where they could return to rescue Time. Instead of the temple, crumbling but largely in one piece- if Twilight could just forget the sight of Time shoving Four out of the way of that chunk of ceiling and getting trapped under it instead he would be happier- they were looking out at a large open field with tents in the distance. If he had to guess Twilight would say they were military tents but he left that sort of thing for Time and Warriors.
Speaking of Warriors, their second in command was staring at those tents in shocked confusion. He stumbled forwards a couple of steps and shook his head.
“This… this is my era… my Hyrule… but it’s-”
Before Warriors could finish what he was saying Twilight shook his head and gave a harsh disbelieving cry. He flung himself at the ground and began to go over it as carefully as he could. There had to be something, some way, that could get them back to Time. If nothing else then he had to get back to his Hyrule, if he could do that Twilight could find Time and help him. His vision turned blurry as he ran his hands over the grass and dirt hoping to find something there.
He could hear the others as they looked around, not bothering to search like he was while they tried to come to terms with the abrupt change and what it meant. Next to him Warriors dropped to the ground too and began to search for something as well. Twilight felt like curling up and sobbing because he had been right there, just within reach of Time but had been ordered away. Time had been giving them that stern look and his voice had been calm and confident but Twilight hated that he didn’t know how real that confidence was and how much was him trying to reassure them that he would be okay without them.
“If you’re looking for that portal that brought you here it’s gone.” A voice carried over to them.
Twilight’s ears twitched as he processed what had been said. He had to fight the urge to keen with despair at that new information because it told him just how hopeless his searching was. Warriors shook his head and kept searching, Twilight wasn’t sure he really heard the words or if he just heard the tone and was ignoring them. Wind was looking around, his eyes wide and worried until he seemed to catch sight of whoever it was.
“Not now, Mask.” Warriors’ absent words told Twilight that he was right, he hadn’t caught the words.
Twilight shook his head rapidly, turning and looking in the direction that Wind had turned.
“Please, there has to be some way back! Please, you have to know of a way! We have to get back.”
“You’re pathetic.”
The words stung, but Twilight ignored that, he knew his behavior warranted them. He felt a little sick when he finally saw the person who spoke them. The green tunic that had to belong to a hero, and golden hair that was so familiar. The person was shorter than Four and was scowling to match Legend as Legend himself snorted.
“Some help you are.”
“I don’t see you offering any-”
Wind ignored the scowl and raced towards the boy, cutting off the rest of what he was about to say. Twilight wanted to call a warning but something about the boy seemed familiar and safe. He tried to figure it out and almost gave up when he noticed the eyes, Time’s eyes. Twilight wondered at that because clearly, going by his feeling and by what he saw, this boy would become Time… he had no idea what happened. Something made him this jaded and bitter child but something else happened to make him the warm affectionate man they knew. It frightened him a little to see the jarring difference between the two.
“Sprite! I missed you.” Wind sounded delighted as he hugged the boy, Sprite apparently.
Sprite seemed less happy to be trapped in the hug and tried to squirm away before sighing, visibly resigned to being hugged so tightly.
“I saw you less than a day ago. If you’re this needy then you need help.”
“It’s been a lot longer than that for us, Mask.” Warriors said as he got up and moved closer to the duo, he wiped his eyes to try and hide the tears building in them.
Twilight frowned as he watched Sprite -Mask?- roll his eyes at that and shake his head.
“You really missed me that much? That seems rather pathetic... I’m hardly here to make friends.” Sprite’s tone and words sparked some memory in Twilight’s mind, almost reminding him of something or someone. He resolved to try and keep an eye on him and how he reacted to everyone else to see if that would help him figure it out.
“Maybe you aren’t now-” Wind said cheerfully as he wrapped an arm around Sprite’s shoulders and earned himself a glare.
Warriors was smiling as he shook his head. “You might change your mind.”
“Which we hope you do!” Wind chimed in. Warriors gave him a brief stern look before focusing on Sprite again.
“Even if you don’t, we can still say we see you as a friend.”
“Besides, it’s been so long for us!”
Sprite seemed to give up and Twilight felt relieved, he didn’t want to know what arguments could have been given in response to that. Sprite already seemed inclined to keep them at arm's length and strengthened the thought of the behavior reminding him of something… someone. As he watched Sprite glare at the two of them he spotted an almost wistful longing for that closeness and yet he watched as Sprite seemed to close himself away from that as he turned his attention to the rest of them. There was clearly something in Sprite that wanted to be close to others but the way he held himself back worried Twilight. He was about to move forwards and introduce himself when he saw how Sprite’s eyes unfocused as they looked at him. His hand moved up to rub his forehead like he had a headache, those eyes watched him with curiosity and interest for a moment before moving away.
“Whatever, either way you are stuck here without help. I could help you find your way back to wherever you were…”
“What’s the catch?” Legend demanded hostility doubtlessly catching that Sprite really wasn’t interested in helping them so freely.
Warriors shot him a disapproving look and Four crossed his arms frowning at Sprite like he wanted to figure him out. Twilight personally agreed with Four, he wanted to figure out Sprite too, or at least to find some way to make him more friendly towards them. Wild moved closer to him as Twilight found himself moving closer to Sprite. He finally realized something as he watched Sprite look at Legend, Sprite was not a child, even if he looked like one. He wondered at how he missed it, no one could have eyes like those unless they had experienced many of the same things as the rest of them… or worse things. Sprite’s eyes had that same wary look that Time’s had when he thought they weren’t looking, a look anticipating great loss and pain, it was not just the same blue as his mentor’s eyes were and that told him plenty about what this person who seemed like a child had been through. As it was Sprite tilted his head, eyes narrowing in challenge as he looked at Legend which warned Twilight that a fight was possible between them. He looked at Sky and Hyrule and gave them a subtle gesture towards Legend which they shrugged but moved closer to the Veteran after seeing.
“I need help finding a herb for an elixir.”
“So what? We help you find it and then you show us where we need to go?”
“If you’re patient.”
At Sprite’s reply Sky and Hyrule both had to grab Legend to keep him from attacking Sprite. Sprite was giving Legend a look of mild disdain and Twilight knew that he needed to get involved to prevent another fight. He was mildly annoyed by the answer too but he also knew that Sprite was their best chance to get back to Time and be able to help him.
“Please?” Twilight requested, his voice quiet and intense. He poured his worry for Time and his fear that they wouldn’t be in time to help him into his voice as he looked at Sprite. “Whatever you need, I will help with, just please help us. Our friend who got left behind was in danger. I don-”
Sprite shook his head and pressed his hand over Twilight’s mouth to stop him from talking. Twilight caught Wind and Warriors sharing a startled look and guessed that Sprite took a more direct way to stop someone from talking which made him wonder what the difference was. He wondered if it was like Time, he didn’t want to know too much about the future so he couldn’t change it too much. If so then that made sense, he wouldn’t want to know about their companion so he couldn’t change anything.
“I need your help, not an explanation.” Sprite paused and seemed to grimace, his eyes taking on a wispy white hue for a moment before it vanished again and his jaw set in a way that spoke of stubbornly refusing something. Twilight wondered what that was about but decided to worry about it later.
“What exactly do you need to find?” Wild asked, his slate already in his hands. He was ready to find the plant if he could but Sprite shook his head.
“I never learned the name. The herb grows around here and gives off a strong smell to anything that isn’t a Hylian. It’s the last ingredient I need besides water for the elixir.”
Hyrule looked around and sniffed a few times but he gave them a sad look while shaking his head. Warriors gave a small shrug and indicated that it was okay he couldn’t find the herb. Sprite was watching them curiously, no doubt wondering what he missed, and Twilight hesitated before pulling out his shadow crystal. He didn’t want Sprite to be afraid of him but he would need to transform to find the herb in question. As his form shifted he saw Sprite staring at him startled but not frightened. Instead he seemed concerned, and Twilight moved closer to him. Sprite seemed to relax and placed his hand lightly on his shoulder. Sighing Twilight leaned into the touch before taking a couple of sniffs of his own.
Almost right away he picked up the new scent and followed it through the field to a couple of boulders. The rocks seemed to shelter several plants and Sprite made a pleased sound as he reached for the plant with flowers that were edged in white. Twilight knew that they weren’t blue like he saw but he waited to see if Sprite needed him to find more of them. As he waited he almost completely missed seeing the knife that Sprite was using to gather the plant. It was simply something that confirmed Sprite was who he thought he was.
“Hey Sprite?”
“What?”
Sprite was giving Wind a mildly annoyed look.
“Where did you get that knife?”
“Huh?” Sprite looked at Wind confused before he glanced towards where he’d sheathed the knife he’d just used. Seeing that his expression cleared up and he rolled his eyes. “Oh, that. I got it from a Sheikah chief before I left for my second adventure.”
“It looks like the knife Time always carries.” Four mused out loud.
Sprite sent them a sharp look and turned to face them while frowning. “Time?”
“Yes. The friend we are trying to get back to is called Time.” Sky answered gently. He stepped forwards with a gentle smile, clearly trying to be friendly. “It’s a nickname, we all share the same-”
“Save it.” Sprite snapped. Seeing Sky flinch back a little Twilight felt a little sympathy and sorrow. He had seen it coming before it happened, it seemed connected with his feeling of having seen the behavior before though he still couldn’t quite tell from where, and seeing the reassured look on both Wind and Warriors’ faces he knew that this was the typical reaction for Sprite. Still he caught the brief sorrowful look sent towards Sky as though he hadn’t meant to be so harsh before Sprite focused on Warriors. “So you’re trying to get back to this ‘Time’?”
“Yes, he was in trouble last time we saw him.”
“He’s been leading us. It’s so cool!” Wind chimed in cheerfully. He grinned at Sprite as he waved his hands. “It’s been fun traveling with the Legendary Hero of Time.”
Something about that seemed to upset Sprite and Twilight knew what it was. He had seen the way that Sprite had reacted to the name Time and was sure Sprite knew it was him they wanted to get back to… well an older version of him. Suddenly he understood, it was Midna. Sprite reminded him of Midna at the start of their journey. The defensiveness and the way he kept trying to distract or push them all away was the same as Midna’s behavior. How she blamed herself for failing her people and how she seemed to feel unworthy of speaking with or seeing any of them after that. It made him think that maybe Sprite felt like he didn’t deserve having someone there for him and Twilight hated that. The idea of his mentor and friend feeling so unworthy of something so needed and common… it hurt.
Sprite’s eyes shimmered that glowing white color that Time’s bad eye was colored for a moment as he turned away. Twilight shifted back and secured his crystal around his neck while moving closer to Warriors, almost wanting to ask him about Sprite but afraid of the answers he would get. Sprite sighed and shook his head, his shoulders slumped a little, as he started walking towards the tents. He didn’t seem interested in leaving the forest yet but something about the whole thing seemed off to Twilight which was why he didn’t move to stop Legend from reaching to grab Sprite. As he’d half expected Sprite dodged the hand and turned to give Legend an indignant but wary look.
“We helped you.”
“You helped me find one ingredient, not to make the elixir or to finish gathering everything. If I don’t make that elixir then your group is going to look very different very soon.”
“Shit.” Wind murmured as he moved towards Sprite, his face was pale and his eyes were worried. All of them looked at him bewildered, wondering what he remembered that hadn’t been shared. He shoved past Sky and Four who were clearly trying to keep him away from Sprite and Twilight remembered that they probably didn’t know who Sprite really was or they didn’t trust what they thought if they had guessed. “The Captain is sick, isn’t he? That was today, you finally got the answers about what is wrong and came to gather what you needed.”
“Yes… that’s where Tune is. He is watching over the Captain. He is also out fighting instead of the Captain.” Sprite seemed amused as he said that and Twilight wondered if that had to do with the three different scents clinging to him, two of which he recognized but he decided to leave it alone. “I will be helping Tune with the fighting for a little while after I give the Captain the elixir so you will have to be patient. I agreed to help you and I will, but I didn’t say I could just drop everything and help you right now.”
The exasperated look that was directed at them all nearly had Twilight giggling from relief. It was strange how just having this younger, more bitter Time here was enough to get him to relax but he knew that it was partly just having someone who seemed to know what they were doing around.
“Do we have time for introductions?” Wild asked. He had clearly made the connection that Twilight had and was also clearly lost as to how Sprite would become their Time.
Twilight was proud of him for trying, and even prouder when Wild didn’t flinch at Sprite’s reply.
“What’s the point? You will all be away before I need to know your names, and I doubt you’ll care enough to remember me as anything polite anyways.”
“Well… do you prefer Sprite or Mask?” Hyrule asked gently, clearly wary of Sprite’s reaction.
“I… Sprite, but you can call me whatever you like.”
“It’s nice to meet you Sprite, I’m Hyrule.”
Sprite seemed to watch Hyrule with a pained look on his face and Legend moved closer to them, allowing Twilight to see Legend’s struggle. Legend seemed like he was seeing some sort of darkened mirror of someone he knew, possibly himself, and Twilight wished that their Time was there to reassure him of everything working out. Once again he wondered if Sprite had suffered so much loss that he just became so bitter that he pushed others away so they couldn’t be close enough to hurt him. It was almost like a fox kit he’d seen once, trapped and wounded but still trying to protect itself. He smiled a little as he imagined Time’s reaction to the nickname and decided to try using it.
“I’m Legend, Hyrule is my successor.”
“Oh? Wait… the Hero of Legend?”
“That’s right.”
Sprite smirked a bit as he studied Legend and Twilight wondered why but knew he would hear his answer soon enough.
“So you’re the one Ravio won’t shut up about. He loves telling stories about his ‘Mr. Hero’ and how brave he is to save him and his ‘Princess Hilda’.”
Legend’s face turned red and he looked at the others, clearly searching for someone he could distract Sprite with. When his eyes landed on Sky who was smothering a laugh to the best of his ability they seemed to light up.
“That’s Sky.”
“Sky? Wait, you mean…”
Warriors tensed and that told Twilight that Sky was not a person to just introduce to Sprite like that. It worried him since Sky was a kind person and Sprite didn’t seem to be too bad, not now that he’d figured out that Sprite was like Midna, though he clearly knew how to hold a grudge if the glare he suddenly turned on Sky meant anything. Twilight wondered what that was about and hoped that it wasn’t anything too bad. When Warriors moved to stand between Sky and Sprite he knew he was right about the introduction going badly.
“You mean to tell me that all of the nonsense I have been dealing with from Fi and that creep Ghirahim is your fault?! You-!”
Sprite had started to move towards Sky who was looking alarmed but Warriors quickly caught Sprite and he knelt down to look him in the eye.
“Sprite, calm down. There is a good reason for it.”
“Unbelievable! You’re defending him! You, after you got skewered by that creep, you are defending him.”
“I am, there is more going on than you know.”
“Story of my life.” Sprite snarled as he turned and resumed walking.
“Sprite, Sky almost died to him too. He got skewered as well.” Warriors called at Sprite’s back.
Twilight saw the slight tensing of Sprite’s shoulders indicating he heard though he kept going. The anger that Sprite seemed to radiate seemed to repel the rest of the Chain but he felt the need to keep trying. He wanted to get to know this version of his mentor even if he got the same hostility as Sky had.
“I’m Twilight.” He said, after catching up to Sprite and walking for a few minutes.
“Twilight? You’re Midna’s Hero?”
“... of course you know Midna…” Twilight gave a sad smile then he nodded. Sprite seemed to soften a little and he gave Twilight a slightly softer look before refocusing ahead.
“She… misses you. Sometimes she shares stories about her adventure with you and she always sounds like she regrets leaving you like she did, however that was.” That wistful look returned and Twilight wanted to talk to him again, to reassure him but he felt like this was not the time for that. Sprite paused and looked around for a moment before pointing to a path. “There is a Great Fairy fountain that way. For the elixir to work as quickly as I need it to, that water will be the best.”
“I’ll go ask for some, that way you can start preparing everything else.” Hyrule offered, and that seemed to help calm Sprite down more. His shoulders relaxed as he nodded.
“Okay, a flask should be plenty. I don’t think I will need to make more than one batch but that should give some extra just in case.”
Hyrule grinned at him and nodded before hurrying off towards the fountain. Twilight caught the distrustful look Warriors sent towards it and the exasperated yet amused looks sent towards him by both Wind and Sprite.
“What else will you need? I know you’ll want firewood and probably a pot but I’m not sure what else.” Wild asked, scrolling through his slate to call up the things he listed. As they appeared Sprite gave them a mildly distrustful look then poked at them to see if they would do anything before shrugging and arranging them for when Hyrule returned with the water.
“A cutting board would be nice but not necessary. If any of you can control ice or fire magic very well that would help too but I am not counting on it.”
Sprite took the cutting board and the knife Wild held out for him with some surprise but settled to begin cutting up the herbs he had, more than Twilight expected and he had traveled with Time. Of course this did explain some about how the old man knew what herbs helped with what but not their names, if he’d learned about them as a child then he wouldn’t have needed to know the names. Strangely knowing more about Time just made him sadder and sadder… it also made Twilight miss the old man more because he felt like he would be able to help so much more now than the rest of them could.
Legend stumbled forward a step then glared back at Four who was giving a small smile, clearly amused by Legend’s reaction and Wind giggled at it too. Sprite paused to watch them, silently judging their reactions but he quickly resumed his work while allowing them to say whatever they were going to.
“I can use fire magic, so can Hyrule. Of the two of us I have better control.”
Sprite gave him a mildly doubtful look but seemed willing to accept that. “Can you use it to heat a liquid to an exact point and not have it continue to heat?”
“I can.” Legend nodded.
Twilight wondered if Sprite could also see the doubt but resolve on Legend’s face. They knew that Warriors’ life was at risk now and so they all would do what they could to make sure Sprite got what he needed. Twilight knew that without looking at them because none of them were willing to leave one of their brothers in danger if they could do something about it. The small sad sound that came from Wind who had grabbed onto Warriors’ scarf told Twilight that he wasn’t alone in thinking about Time just now and how they couldn’t help him.
Sprite sent a brief glance towards Warriors and Wind before refocusing on Legend and nodding his acceptance. Twilight sat near him but where he would be out of the way.
“Good, I’ll take care of the ice magic parts… including chilling the elixir so it will last long enough to get to him.”
“Why not just make the elixir where Wars is?” Four asked as he watched Sprite preparing the ingredients.
Sprite shook his head and looked at Warriors, no doubt knowing that he would understand whatever his reasons were even if the rest of them wouldn’t. “Do you want the others to know you are here twice over? How do you think Zelda would react to you all? Or Lana and Impa? What about if Cia finds out that there are more with the Spirit around?”
None of them knew what most of that meant or was supposed to imply. Twilight could tell that just from a quick look around at them, but whatever it meant Wind and Warriors both paled and shook their heads. Warriors even shuddered and tightened his hand on Wind’s shoulder, his posture becoming protective of the younger Hero. Sprite clearly knew what he was doing which didn’t surprise Twilight, not after figuring out a few things about him, but he was relieved when they didn’t keep pressing him with more questions since it allowed him to focus on the last of the ingredients.
“Here you go!” Hyrule called as he ran closer, holding up the flask so they could see it. The container didn’t slosh as he shook it telling Twilight that Hyrule had filled it as much as he could. “The Great Fairy was happy to let me take as much as I needed. She even said that if we need more I can go back and get it.”
That explained it, she probably filled it herself. Twilight smiled, seeing the smile and the relief he felt at seeing Hyrule mirrored on Sprite’s face. He turned and watched as Sprite took the flask and poured half of it into the small pot before lighting the fire below it using some flint. Legend moved closer but stayed across the fire from Sprite who sighed then started murmuring something to himself. Twilight closed his eyes and was able to make out one word in every three, the language one he had been trying to learn so he could help when Time was really tired or upset and needed the familiar words of his childhood.
“Okay so when these are warm enough the potion will turn blue, once that happens you will need to heat it up until it turns a pale yellow. If you heat it too much it will turn brown and we will have to start over.”
“Pale yellow.. okay, got it.”
Hyrule looked a little confused but happily settled near the fire between Legend and Sprite to watch the whole thing, no doubt wanting to learn this particular elixir. He would have a lot of questions, and so would Warriors if his expression at Twilight’s curious look his way meant anything. Sprite would probably be tired of questions by the time he finally sent them all away back to Twilight’s Hyrule.
As Sprite said, after he added the plant parts the water did turn blue. Once that happened Legend heated it, clearly focusing hard on what he was doing. As Legend did so Sprite added some flower petals, the green color seemed to blend in as it slowly changed to yellow from blue. Twilight was about to worry when the elixir slowly began to turn pale. Judging by the approving look on Sprite’s face Legend stopped heating it at the right time. Sprite seemed inclined to wait for it to change colors again and it deepened to a slightly orange color, then Sprite touched it and chilled it slightly which made the color seemed to settle and take on a shimmery look. With a pleased hum Sprite added something else to it and indicated for Legend to start heating it again.
“We need the color to be darker, it will be an almost rusty color but not red. If it turns red then it is too hot.”
Legend nodded and began heating it again. Warriors somehow moved closer to them without Twilight noticing it until he sat down near Sprite. It was at such a spot where Twilight and Warriors had a clear sight of each other and part of the group. If they had learned anything from Time it was that the Links often needed someone to keep an eye on them with things like this.
“I’m surprised you’re going through so much trouble for someone you aren’t interested in being friends with.”
“.. the others care about you, so I figure there has to be something to want to keep around.” Sprite replied, carefully not looking at Warriors.
Twilight caught a slight shift and knew that he was lying about that. He looked at Warriors and caught the smallest glimmer of hurt so he signed ‘lie’ to him. Seeing it Warriors seemed surprised for a moment before his expression softened and warmed. Wind gave them both a small smile and nodded, clearly knowing something but not willing to share it with Sprite there. Perhaps later once he was away Wind would share whatever he knew that he wasn’t saying.
“So you wouldn’t care?”
“No.”
‘Lie.’
“I see. Well even so I am glad you are doing this anyways. I owe you my life and I never realized it.” Warriors’ voice was soft and oddly relieved. His smile was just as soft as his voice and Sprite firmly looked at the potion clearly trying not to react to Warriors again.
Twilight wished he would because it was so clear that Warriors loved him and wanted him safe and happy. Still it was necessary for Sprite to focus on the potion and as the color turned to the shade he told Legend he wanted it to be he quickly added the leaves from the plant they had helped him find. The elixir turned a silvery color that quickly darkened to a shade of green that Twilight noticed seemed similar to what Sprite was wearing. Sprite smiled slightly and hummed a familiar song that a few of the others seemed to recognize as well.
“I know that song.” Twilight murmured happily.
“It’s called the Song of Healing... I learned it during my second quest.”
“I like it. It helped me with my nightmares after my quest.”
Sprite gave him a startled look, seeming almost uncertain but also oddly comforted by what he said, then quickly refocused on the elixir and chilled it a little before adding several of the remaining ingredients, leaving only the flowers from the plant they’d found. Looking at Legend he gestured towards the pot.
“Heat it until it turns clear.”
Legend sighed but resumed heating it, visibly tired. Sprite frowned at that and pulled out a small bottle that he handed to Hyrule then gestured towards Legend. Hyrule nodded smiling happily and when he shifted a bit Twilight could see that it was a green potion. Sprite waited, clearly trying to decide about something while they waited for the elixir to be the right color. It changed to a silver before finally paling and becoming a shimmery clear color. Sprite added the flowers then waited, softly murmuring numbers while he waited. Legend took the potion from Hyrule and downed it giving him a grateful smile. Hyrule tilted his head towards Sprite which got a surprised look and Twilight grinned a bit knowing that Sprite would surprise some of them a few times before they were finally able to get back to Time. Once Sprite reached the one minute he chilled it and poured the elixir into a leather flask, carefully preventing the solid parts of the plants that hadn’t dissolved into the mixture from getting into the flask. Once it was in the flask he continued chilling it for a few more moments.
“I need to run. It will take me about a day before I am free to meet up with you. I will see you in the ruins to the North. Don’t let the Captain lead the way or you’ll end out in the ruins to the East.”
Wind clearly knew what Sprite was talking about because he started giggling and nodded. Legend blinked confused as Sprite absently took the empty bottle back while digging through his pouch for something. Making a pleased sound he pulled out a mask and put the bottle in instead. The mask turned out to be a bunny hood and Twilight blinked in surprise. He watched Sprite put it on and felt sad that it didn’t make him look like the child he should be, not really, though perhaps that was from how exhausted he looked or the way he held himself. Either way he watched as Sprite gave a small smile and nod before taking off. He seemed to be moving faster and seemed to reach the tents in a few minutes.
Wild moved around collecting the pot and such, not bothered by needing to clean them later. Hyrule picked up the leftover water from the Fairy Fountain and tucked it into his own pouch. Twilight found himself glancing back towards the camp regularly, wanting to follow Sprite and make sure he would be okay. It was frustrating to realize he had missed how tired Sprite looked, but then he had missed how tired Time looked for a while too so perhaps it wasn’t that strange, he just moved with an energy that made it easy to overlook some things.
“I never thought I would see anyone other than Ravio look so good in a bunny hood.”
“Was it just me or was Sprite moving faster wearing that?” Four asked, giving the direction Sprite went a concerned look.
“He really was faster.” Wind confirmed, his grin said he knew something they didn’t again and Twilight wished he would share or just stop with that grin.
“He told me most of his masks are enchanted.” Warriors admitted which made Twilight wonder about the collection he knew Time carried because now he had questions about what they could do.
“Good to know, hopefully the old man will let us see some of those masks again when we see him.”
“I wonder what he saw…” Wind commented absently.
“Huh?”
“Sprite, he seemed to See something.”
“What makes you say that?”
“How he looked after seeing Twilight, I’ve seen him after he Sees something enough to catch that and…”
“Hopefully it wasn’t something bad. Though maybe that explains his attitude.”
“No, Sky, Sprite has lost so much in his past. He shared a small part of that with us, Wind and I, that he spent the entire time he was here struggling to get close to anyone. Somehow we managed to get close to him but even then there were times he lashed out at us to keep us at a distance. We knew he was trying to protect himself, and yet… when he Saw something he hated to share it because he was afraid of making it happen. I wonder if he Saw something to do with Time..”
“If so I hope it was something good. He deserves to See happy things too.” Wind commented, clearly trying to get Warriors to snap out of his worry.
“Well whatever the case we should probably get going. He said something about some ruins?” Twilight asked, looking from Warriors to Wind.
“Right, this way.” Warriors said and started walking.
Twilight didn’t move, he remembered Sprite’s warning not to let Warriors lead the way. Even if he hadn't, Wind's giggling told him enough that it was the wrong way. After a couple of steps Warriors stopped and turned around giving Wind a confused look.
“What?”
“You’re going the wrong way.”
“No, I’m... wait... I am?”
“North is that way.” Wind pointed in the correct direction. Twilight smothered a laugh at the bewildered look on Warriors’ face before he seemed to remember something.
“Oh, this is part of that one field. I forgot.” Warriors was clearly pleased he remembered that, and started going in the direction Wind pointed towards. Wind walked next to him and Twilight gave them a curious look.
“What does that mean?”
“There is a certain part of some of the fields here in this era that completely mess up some people’s sense of direction. Sprite thinks it’s because of all the magic nonsense happening here right now and that over time it will settle so that it will go away. I agree with him and so we decided that Wars isn’t allowed to pick the way we go in this field. Now, come on, the ruins are just ahead.”