Chapter Text
The air was musty and dank, from what he could tell in every breath. Eyes closed, with a darkness in his head and a buzzing in his ears, that was the first sensation he was able to discern. The second was pain, as his body began to awaken and remind him of where they'd last been. His shoulder burned with the bruises that were beginning to form there, and with a groan he shifted on the ground to relieve the pressure off of it.
Wild flopped onto his back. The floor was undeniably cold and hard, but as the buzzing in his head cleared he picked up the sound of a small fire source crackling nearby.
Where am I?
He struggled to recount the events that'd just transpired. It'd been… a fight. Everyone had their swords swinging. Wild had taken that hit, and there'd been a cry, like someone else must've gotten hurt. And then…
Another portal had opened. Right beneath them all. The dizziness of the odd temporal magic was proof of its lingering effects. Normally when the group of heroes went through a portal so suddenly, they ended up getting separated. Sometimes, it was just a headache reuniting everyone. Other times, they'd be missing someone for days. Wild prayed to Hylia he wasn't lost. Or at the very least, that he wasn't alone in dangerous, unfamiliar lands.
Crash!
Wild sat bolt upright to the sound of something smashing into the far wall. His shoulder immediately protested the sudden movement, and he curled in on himself with a hiss. His eyes stung from opening them to a bright light, but if there was a monster nearby, then he couldn't afford to—
“Oh. Good. You're finally awake.”
Wild opened his eyes slower this time, peering through the dim light cast by a lit torch in the center of the small room. He recognized the voice, at least, and was reassured by the company. But as he took in his surroundings, he couldn't help the stab of disappointment.
It was Legend. And though his company wasn't unappreciated within the group, it was only Legend here with him. Which, again, was fine. But a quick scan of the space they were in suggested that they'd been dropped into a dungeon.
Trapped in a dungeon with Legend.
Wild took a deep breath through his nose. His throat was dry and parched, and his words stuck to the back of his throat, making him wonder when they'd been dropped in this place. “How long've we been here?” he rasped.
Legend held a hand to his chin, thinking for just a moment. “I haven't been awake very long. Few hours? Half a day?” A humorless laugh escaped him. “I don't really keep track.”
“And you didn't try to wake me…?”
Crash!
Wild winced as another pot hit the wall, and he watched as Legend collected something from it. “Your breathing was steady and you looked fine. Besides, you have a fairy on you, right? So if the worse ever happened, you weren't in any actual danger.”
Wild dropped his head into his hands. Asshole. You have potions too, you know!
Had it been Legend on the ground, Wild would've stopped everything to make sure he was okay.
That was the thing about being in these sorts of places with Legend. Wild had heard a few stories from the others about working with him, whether it was before he'd joined with the group or during rare instances of being separated. And he'd seen for himself how Legend navigated these areas when they'd gone through an old temple together.
But the fact of the matter was that Legend was insufferable when it came to exploring dungeons. He never shared his resources, he always wanted to lead even if it wasn't his era, and he was very particular about doing things his way, to a near obsessive degree.
But that was fine. Wild could put up with that – he wasn't keen on taking the lead in a place like this anyway. And though he would've much preferred the company of Twilight or Hyrule, it wasn't as if they were in any immediate danger. They just had to work together.
Wild took in his surroundings. The lit torch revealed a door on the side opposite him. Otherwise, it was an unremarkable room with about ten—
Smash!
—nine pots still left untouched.
Wild massaged his temple as the sound grated on his ears. He watched the veteran go about the room, leaving a trail of shattered pottery in his wake.
“Did you find arrows?” Wild had found supplies stashed in pots before: items left by monsters or people who'd come before him. Either way, it was a helpful addition to his inventory, if that was what the vet was looking for.
Legend raised another pot over his head. “A few. But I don't need them – my quiver's already full. Help yourself.” He nodded towards a bundle resting among a mound of ceramic shards, and Wild reached for them as another pot was unceremoniously smashed against the wall.
“So… if you don't need arrows, then what're you looking for?”
“Dunno. Anything, really.” He stooped for something, but in the flickering shadows Wild couldn't tell what it was.
Wild slowly shifted his legs under him, gritting his teeth against the soreness that was flaring to life in his muscles. Normally he could hide his aches well enough, but he grunted in discomfort as he staggered to a stand, and he reached instinctively to cradle his left arm to relieve tension from his shoulder.
Legend hardly spared him a glance. “You were injured in that fight before the portals emerged, weren't you?”
Wild grimaced. “You saw that, huh? It's really not a big deal, just a lousy bokoblin club.” Like second nature, he began reaching for his slate. “I think I have some potions stored away… or at the very least some apples.”
“No!” Legend snapped, with such blunt resolution that Wild was shocked into stillness. “Haven't you noticed? We're in a dungeon. If you have resources, then you better preserve them. We don't know how long we'll be here, and if this place is bigger than we think, then we'd best not run out!”
Wild retracted his hand with a tired groan, where it went back to cradling his arm instead. Arguing with Legend in his area of expertise was not something he wanted to do. Even still, he let his annoyance shine through. “Right. Of course. Because it makes sense to go through a place like this while injured.” He can't actually be serious.
Legend nodded. “That's right. Only use your potions when you think you're about to die. Otherwise, you're better off scrounging for the healing magic left behind in each room.”
Wild blinked slowly, taking the time to process those words. “The what?”
Legend beckoned him over, pot cradled under one arm. “Here, I have a good feeling about this one.”
Wild shuffled over, coming to stand just behind Legend, and watched as another of the dwindling supply of stoneware was chucked against the wall.
Legend knelt and shifted through the rubble, coming up a second later with the fractured bottom of the pot. Curiously enough, there was a small pile of red dust settled there. “See? Told you so.”
That didn't clear up anything for him. “Am I supposed to… eat that?”
“Goddesses, no!” Legend yelped, drawing the fractured container away. “It's healing! I-it's, like, the essence left behind by the world when there's a lot of magic in the air.” Wild just shook his head, not entirely understanding where this was coming from. He'd never encountered something quite like this, other than… Vitality from the Goddesses. And hearts from defeating the Blights.
Legend clicked his tongue, his brow furrowing in that contemplative way of his that made him look annoyed when he was actually just thinking (that had taken Wild longer than he cared to admit to figure out).
“It's like… in your era, magic flows freely in your flora and fauna, granting special properties to things like flowers and fish,” Legend began, watching Wild carefully to make sure he was understanding. “But resources like that are hard to come by in other eras. So typically what happens is I spend a lot of time searching places where the excess magic might gather, like pots and grass. Here, it's easier if I demonstrate.”
Legend dumped the weak red magic into his hand. On contact, it began to seep into him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, before it faded entirely, he patted it against his side with a wince.
That was when Wild realized that the composed young hero had an ugly gash beneath his right arm. Wild gasped at the sight of blood and shredded skin peering out beneath the cloth. He really hadn't taken a good look at Legend before, but in the dim light the blood had blended in with the red of his tunic.
“You're injured, too!” Wild accused. “Look, I have an extra hearty potion, so if you'd just—”
“I already told you, it's not that big of a deal if we're hurt!” Legend insisted, the start of a scowl on his face. “Just look for the magic that gets left behind and you'll be fine. We'll get better the further we go, but we can't just stop to use what we have every time somebody gets a scratch.” He kicked another pot over, grabbing the red powder that spilled onto the ground. “See? Feeling better already. And I'd suggest you do the same. We don't leave until every pot is cleared.”
Wild bit his tongue, holding back a snide comment. It felt absurd, but he did as directed and collected some of that residual healing along the way. Admittedly, it did make him feel better, if only marginally. A full cooked meal or weak potion would've been a whole lot better. But cooking for nine every day wasn't the easiest, even when pooling resources, so he didn't have as many excess means of healing on hand as he'd had while adventuring alone. Maybe in that sense, Legend was right to be stingy about his resources.
Even still, Wild made sure to keep an eye on Legend. If he was anything like him and every other stubborn hero in this group, then he wasn't going to let any sign of weakness show until they were in dire straits.