Am I Extremely Late? Yes

Am I extremely late? Yes

But heres a new line up of links! All the sketches were done in October but I only got the time and energy to do the cleanup and colors lately

gonna be gone for a bit I need you guys to do me a favor and watch over LU Warriors for me

okay see ya

Day 8: Panic (Warriors & Legend)

Ao3 link

Cw for a panic attack and the Great Fairy acting creepy (it’s pretty much on par with Cia’s behavior from day 2)

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It’s night by the time he sets out.

Warriors glances up at the sky as he walks. The moon shines serenely down on the town, its glow reflected in the puddles gathered on the cobblestones. A speckling of stars dots it, twinkling innocently like fairies.

Well, like some fairies.

He looks back down at his feet and swallows. He had felt it on the way to the town, a presence that never ceases to unsettle him. That of a Great Fairy.

The others likely would have felt it too, if not for their preoccupation with the injured Rancher. But he’s surprised that Legend and Wind hadn’t come across her in their search. Perhaps they were too preoccupied then too.

The cave looms off to the side, nearly hidden amongst a cloak of vines and Warriors steps off the path to head towards it. His heart begins to pick up its pace as he approaches, every beat reverberating in his throat. And the closer he grows, the more his hands tremble, betraying the dread within.

It’s been months since he has had to stand before a Great Fairy. Every part of him wants to turn back. If he returns to the inn maybe he’ll find Twilight out of bed, healed and grinning from another brush with death averted. But he knows that's just wishful thinking. He saw Hyrule’s expression and Time’s too—drawn and exhausted and bordering on hopelessness. He saw Twilight lying in bed, pale and weak, struggling to so much as remain conscious.

Even if Hyrule’s spell can work, the Traveler will doubtless wear himself out before it has the chance. Warriors balls his hands into fists, steeling his nerves. A Great Fairy can do anything—turn the tide of battle, grant special powers, heal the most severe of wounds. This is the only way.

With a deep breath, he plunges through the entrance. Two steps in and the fairy emerges, bursting from within the fountain with a shower of magic. She looks down at him, giggling in a way that makes his skin crawl.

“Welcome, courageous one,” she murmurs. “Come closer and tell me your plight.”

Warriors wants nothing more than to run for it, escape before the inevitable occurs. But he approaches the fountain instead, boots sinking in the moist dirt, fairies flitting out of his path. When he speaks his voice is surprisingly steady.

“My friend is dying. I need you to heal him.”

The fairy nods. “I can sense it, the dark magic within him. Though he doesn’t fight alone, even their combined strength is not enough. It is already draining away his life force.”

“But you can save him.”

“Of course.” She smiles and runs a finger along his cheek. “For a price.”

Warriors clenches his hands even tighter, fighting to conceal their trembling.

“What is it?”

She laughs and the sound of it seems to echo about the cave. “Oh, courageous one, it’s you.”

There’s a bottle in her hand now, so large that someone much taller than him could fit inside it. And he knew this would be the cost, he knew it, but Warriors’ blood runs cold anyway.

“So,” the fairy says, tilting the bottle to and fro in her long-fingered grip, “do you still want me to heal your friend?”

Already, his lungs are constricting, his body tensing, ready to sprint in the opposite direction. But Warriors inhales a purposefully slow breath and looks her right in the eyes.

“Yes.”

“Wonderful! Then let’s begin!”

Warriors has mere seconds to brace himself before she brings the bottle down in a smooth arc, scooping him up effortlessly. His gut plummets as he falls and hits the bottom with an “oof.” Immediately he scrambles back to his feet, just in time to look up and see her pop on the lid.

It’s only then that he realizes he has no idea when…or if she’ll let him out.

She tilts the bottle, so he slides down to collide painfully with the side of it. With a leering grin, she leans forward to peer in at him.

“My, my, you are a pretty one. I might just keep you forever.”

Panic wedges itself in Warriors throat and he tries to stumble back, away from her searching gaze. But then she tilts the bottle once more and he ends up careening backward instead, slamming into the opposite side. Stars explode before his eyes.

“Careful now,” she croons, waggling a finger at him. “We wouldn’t want you to ruin that pretty face of yours.”

Her words are like a vice around his neck. Warriors drags in a strangled breath, struggling against the urge to fight his way out of this.

Just hold on a little longer. Just until Twilight’s healed.

But what if there is no end? What if she decides to follow through on her comment and keep him forever?

A cold sweat crawls across Warriors’ skin and he curls in on himself.

Magic is swirling about outside of his prison now, in a nauseating mini cyclone of pink. It only makes the bottle seem smaller, tighter. A cry rises in his throat, a desperate plea to be let free. But he closes his eyes and grits his teeth, and somehow, miraculously manages to hold it back.

Seconds tick by, turning to minutes that stretch into eternity. His breathing grows faster until he can hardly drag in any air at all, and his heart threatens to pound out of his chest. When he opens his eyes, the bottle seems to constrict further, glass pressing against his body, squeezing the life out of him. He shuts them again almost immediately and digs his nails into his palms.

He’s never going to get out of here. She’s never going to let him go. Forever he’ll be trapped, like a bug in a child’s collection, to be peered at and inspected and jostled about for enjoyment.

Something like a sob breaks past his defenses, and he hunches down further, pressing his forehead to his knees.

When at last the rush of magic stops and he feels her gaze on him once more, he can hardly get the words out past the tightness in his throat.

“I-is he alive?”

“Alive and well,” she replies with a smile, and relief rockets through Warriors. But her next words quickly squash it. “I believe I’ll keep you a bit longer though.”

Warriors stumbles up on shaky legs. “No. No! I fulfilled my part of the bargain. We-we’re finished.”

“What he said, lady,” a familiar voice shouts from far below. A glance downward lets Warriors catch a glimpse of a blue cap set on a head of pink hair. “He did his part. Let him go or you’ll regret it.”

The fairy laughs. “Oh, how you threaten, little one! Ah, well, I suppose if you insist. There’s no need for a fight, after all. I don’t wish to kill you.”

She uncorks the bottle and turns it upside down. Warriors plummets, hitting the ground with a dull thud. For a long moment, he can only sit there, trying to breathe. But then Legend puts an arm around his shoulders and hauls him up.

“Come on,” he says, as Warriors stumbles forward, still shaking uncontrollably. “We’re getting out of here.”

They make it out of the cave without event, though Warriors can feel the Great Fairy’s gaze on him the whole time. No sooner have they stepped out into the open air, than he collapses once more, weak with nauseating terror and overwhelming relief.

He’s free. It’s over. But with the Great Fairy still just behind him, it hardly feels that way.

Legend squats down in front of him, skewering him with a glare. “What was that?! I’ve never–you-you were just gonna let her keep you like a pet?!”

Any other time Warriors would find his overexcitement amusing. Right now, he finds it more exhausting. It’s more than enough trying to drag in each breath, he doesn’t need the veteran having a conniption fit too.

He stares down at his trembling hands and works to form the words to the question he needs to ask.

“Is Twilight, okay?”

“He’s fine now, thanks to you,” Legend replies, grumpily.

Warriors closes his eyes and chokes out a shaky exhale.

It’s over, he tells himself once more, as though that will make it any more real. As though that will drive the feeling of being trapped, pinned beneath her leering gaze away.

A hand comes to rest hesitantly on his shoulder. When he raises his head Legend has dropped to his knees beside him and is regarding him with an uncharacteristically soft expression.

“Are you alright?”

Warriors huffs a laugh he doesn’t feel. The panic hasn’t even begun to subside yet. “I’ll be fine, Vet. It’s not the first time I’ve been through that.”

“Not the first–” Legend springs to his feet again, outraged. “I didn’t even know fairies could do that, and yet–and yet you’re over here telling me they’ve done it to you before?! Those little…”

He mutters a string of curses beneath his breath, hands fisted at his sides, gaze trained murderously at the cave. For a moment, Warriors is certain he’s going to run off and slay the fairy, but then the veteran turns back to him. He stares down at him, miserable affair that he must be, and Warriors stares back, trying to read the emotions churning in those sharp eyes. He hasn’t even identified half of them, however, before Legend drops down again.

…and hugs him.

Warriors goes rigid with shock. He didn’t even think Legend was capable of accepting hugs, and for him to give on so freely…

“Vet, wha–”

“Don’t question it,” Legend snaps. “Don’t ask for me to do this again, either. This is a one-time thing because you look absolutely pitiful.”

A more genuine chuckle escapes Warriors, and he slumps forward, into the safety of the veteran’s embrace.

So. who broke it?

sure! maybe the u.s. lied about and/or caused mass death in japan, china, korea, the ussr, guatemala, indonesia, cuba, congo, peru, laos, vietnam, cambodia, grenada, lebanon, libya, el salvador, nicaragua, iran, panama, iraq, kuwait, somalia, bosnia, sudan, afghanistan, pakistan, bulgaria, macedonia, bahamas, cuba again, south africa, bolivia, marshall islands, greece, portugal, philippines, ecuador, albania, argentina, angola, jamaica, indonesia, seychelles, haiti, guyana, chad, thailand, algeria, brazil, dominican republic, ghana, mexico, uruguay, colombia, chile, russia, venezuela, yugoslavia, palestine, yemen, cuba again, the u.s. itself........ but! ....and hear me out here..... maybe this time they're telling the truth & they really have the interests of people and democracy at heart :)

some art i forgot to post for @sister-dear's recent fairy!Hyrule work "Please Don't Come for Me"! this is for chapter 4 - go give it a read! :D