A/N: Hello~! Welcome back to Chapter 2!! Hope you guys like it. A huge thanks to my LU server friends~! Please leave a review if you've got the time. :3 Updates will be slow and few and far between, but know that I NEVER abandon a story. ^^

~SilvermistAnimeLover/K.R. Starktower/Hero of the Deathly Loneliness

Time was used to being the first one awake, unless someone had a nightmare. It wasn't uncommon, but most of them could fall back asleep after a bit. So he was more than a little surprised to see Wild up and about, working on breakfast.

Time walked over to Warriors, who'd been the last shift of the night. "How long's he been up?"

"A few hours." Warriors answered with a sigh. "Woke up from what looked like a pretty nasty nightmare. He startled so badly he actually fell out of the tree. He landed on his feet in a battle stance, though—I was kinda impressed."

Looked like Wild wasn't an exception to the nightmare game, either. He wondered just what he'd seen on his journey, but it was too soon to ask. They'd only just met, after all.

Time stretched out his old aching bones and approached their newest member. "Anything I can do to help with breakfast? I may not be able to cook, but I can help prepare some ingredients."

Wild smiled up at him from his seat on a tree stump. He gave a shake of his head as he gestured to the fluffy omelets sizzling happily. "Ah, they're already ready." Time mentally thanked the Goddesses for sending them someone who could cook. Wild nodded, grin widening as he gestured towards the others.

Time nodded, understanding Wild's silent message, and turned to wake Twilight, who was already blearily blinking awake. Most of the camp was, actually—roused by the smell of Wild's food. He stifled a chuckle as Hyrule and Four staggered forward like the undead.

Wild grinned brightly as the half-asleep heroes complimented his culinary skills. They started making a game plan over breakfast. "So we're heading to Castle Town, right?" Hyrule asked around a wide yawn.

"Yeah, we need to stock up on supplies." Four nodded as he double-checked his bag to make sure he had everything packed. "Wild, where's your stuff?" He asked, noticing that Wild had no bags. The scarred youth just smirked and tapped his Slate. "Oh, right. That must be nice."

"Speaking of resupplying, your shield broke, right? We should get you a new one. You shouldn't be without a shield." Warriors looked towards Wild, who perked up at the sound of something new. He nodded eagerly.

Wild's sign was a bit different from any of theirs—likely due to the large gap in eras—but Time was able to make out two shields and badly damaged. Warriors, who didn't know much sign beyond the basics and military signs, turned to Time for a translation, horribly lost.

"He says he's got two shields, but they're badly damaged." Time made a mental note to pull Warriors aside and teach him more detailed sign, and also pull Wild aside and teach him more of their sign. If Wild really couldn't speak, then they needed a more fluent method of communication. Sky was also fairly dubious at sign, so he'd probably need some help there, too.

"Yeesh." Warriors winced. "You should take better care of your shields. They are kind of your last line of defense."

Wild gave a sheepish smile with a hand motion that Time took to mean 'I'm used to it'.

"As long as your weapons hold out." Hyrule sighed, catching the drift of what Wild was saying. When Wild didn't reply, several eyes widened, incredulous. "You're kidding!"

Wild blinked owlishly. 'It's common.' He signed slowly, catching onto the fact that Time and the others were having difficulty with his native sign. 'Not common here?'

"No, I've rarely heard of someone's weapon breaking on them." Warriors looked rightfully frightened for Wild. "How many of your weapons are close to breaking?"

Wild held up two fingers with a shrug. Time could practically hear the 'only' implied.

"Oh, just two. No worries then." Legend shook his head, sarcasm dripping from his words. "If they're damaged that badly, why hold on to them?"

Wild mimed throwing something with a shrug.

"You throw weapons?!" Four gasped. Time hadn't heard of someone using such a desperate move as a viable strategy.

Wild hesitantly nodded his head, unsure of why everyone was reacting so strongly to this. Time mentally groaned. If one's weapon breaking was that common in Wild's Hyrule, then what kinds of blacksmithing techniques had been lost? Or maybe it was a situation where only the extremely rich could afford weapons, and the poor had to scavenge them from elsewhere? He really hoped not, it sounded far too similar to Hyrule's Hyrule for his tastes.

"I think your Hyrule is a little different than ours." Twilight finally said. "Come on, I'll show you how we do things in my Hyrule." He grinned, and Wild's eyes shone with an eager curiosity.

It only took an hour and a half of walking to reach the gates of Castle Town. Wild slowed down quite a bit to stare at the castle in awe.

"What's wrong? Never been to a Castle Town before?" Hyrule asked with a teasing grin.

Wild just shook his head, eyes wide with awe. Time could understand. Some Hyrule Castles were more extravagant than others, and Twilight's was certainly grand. Hell, Wind didn't even have a castle, from what he could remember.

"Come on, then. Stay close so you don't get lost. Castle Town can be a bit confusing." Twilight smiled.

Castle Town was slow, today. There weren't nearly as many people wondering around as normal, likely due to the colder weather and looming storm clouds. People were more prone to stay indoors with their fires on days like this, but it suited the traveling heroes just fine.

Normally, they'd split up to cover more ground, but everyone was still a little edgy due to the Lizalfos incident yesterday. They had black blood, and normally the group would switch soon after defeating a group black-blooded enemies like that. If a switch did occur while they were in Castle Town, they wanted to minimize any chances of being separated. So this time, they'd stick together.

Wild kept staring at everything in awe—especially the people and stalls. Time smiled to himself as he purchased a few items from a nearby stand, making sure that nobody wondered too far. Wind was pestering Warriors about some sweet buns another stand had, while Four was eyeing the blacksmith shop across the way his eyes seeming to shift between different colors as he debated with himself over something.

That was when Time noticed Wild getting a little antsy. His eyes sparkled with curiosity and a thirst for adventure, but the kid's eyes also scoped the rooftops and walls for escape routes.

"Twi." He caught his protégé's attention and gestured discreetly to Wild. He nodded and approached the younger hero.

"What's wrong?"

'Too many people.' Wild signed, a slight tremor to his hands. Twilight frowned lightly with a nod and led him to a more secluded area of Castle Town.

"Hey, where's Wild and Twilight going?" Wind asked as he rejoined them with a sweet bun and a pouting Warriors.

"Wild's a little overwhelmed with the amount of people. Twilight's taking him somewhere to decompress." Time answered, a light frown on his own face.

"Too many people?" Legend raised an eyebrow. "It's practically dead today."

"Maybe his Hyrule isn't as densely populated?" Sky asked. "I remember being overwhelmed when I first saw some of your Hyrules. It's a lot more people than Skyloft."

"But he's from so far into the future." Four shook his head. "Shouldn't there be more people?"

"Not necessarily." Warriors chimed in. "Things like war and natural disasters can curb a population pretty quickly. It's possible that something happened to cut down the populace."

"Do you think it could've been Ganon?" Hyrule suggested quietly.

"I'm sure Wild will tell us when he's ready." Time spoke up. "Besides, they're coming back, and I imagine Wild would appreciate you not talking about him while he's not here." He gestured towards Twilight and Wild who were making their way back. Twilight was signing to Wild, teaching him some of the more common signs in their era.

"Are you okay?" Wind asked as the two came back into hearing distance.

Wild nodded with a sheepish smile, though there was a hint of weariness there. 'Too many people.' He repeated.

"So you really haven't been to your Castle Town before?" Hyrule furrowed his brows. Wild looked like he was going to answer when his attention was drawn to a stand with jewelry.

Twilight snorted. "Didn't take you for the beauty type."

Wild grinned and tucked some of his hair back, showing off some rather pretty amber earrings cut into the shape of a maple leaf. 'Protection.' He explained.

"Ah, well these ones don't offer any protection." Twilight smiled. "They're just for looks." Wild gave him a confused and mildly affronted look, as if the concept of jewelry purely for appearance was offensive.

Legend snorted, amused. "Come on, we're wasting daylight. We need to actually buy things before that storm breaks."

Time eyed the looming dark clouds on the horizon. Legend was right. While being caught in a storm in Castle Town was immensely better than being caught in a storm out in the wilds, he still wanted their supplies restocked before another switch dropped them Hylia knew where.

Wild was handling himself better, now, and Time wondered if he was adjusting or just getting better at hiding his discomfort. Time went with Wild into the shop that specialized in spices and cooking supplies. He had a feeling that the kid was more impulsive than not, so he wanted to be there to make sure he didn't go too overbord.

"Welcome! Is there anything I can help you find?" A tall burly man walked over from behind the counter. He started walking towards Time, who held his hands up in surrender.

"Don't look at me. I can't cook to save my life—I leave that to my wife." He chuckled. "And to my friend over here." He gestured towards Wild, who was eyeing a few of the bottles that lined the shelves.

"I see." The man grinned and headed towards Wild. "That's a good choice for seafood. It's got a nice peppery flavor that accentuates the smoky taste of a good grilled fish."

Wild perked up at that, snagging one of the bottles. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, but whatever voice he may have had caught in his throat. He quickly shut it and gestured to another bottle.

That was interesting. Maybe Wild wasn't mute? Or perhaps it was a recent development? It was entirely possible that it was a social anxiety issue—Goddesses knew that they'd all had some sort of similar issue at some point.

Time let his mind wander as Wild dragged the shopkeeper around and had him explain all the different spices. The kid looked like he was on cloud nine, and considering the fact that this stuff would be used in their food, Time wasn't overly concerned about a heavy basket. It's not like Wild would let it go to waste, anyhow.

"You ready?" He asked when Wild rejoined Time. The other nodded with a wide grin as he stepped outside and stored dozens of spice bottles in his Slate.

"You two good?" Legend walked over. "We were going to restock on arrows, but we didn't know if you guys needed any."

"I'm good." Time answered. "Wild?" The kid perked up again, his grin widening as he nodded fiercely. "Guess that answers that question." Time followed Legend towards the archery shop.

The moment they stepped inside, they were hit with the smell of wood and polish, lined with an undertone of iron. Bows lined the walls of many different models and colors. Some advertised faster shots while others advertised more power or accuracy. One even came as a bundle with a scope.

Barrels and crates of arrows were all over the place. Some had iron tips, while others had wood or even bone made from monsters. The fletching differed between models, too. Some were made for rainy shots while others were weighted to fly straighter in high winds.

Wild's eyes were wide and sparkled in awe. Time wondered if he'd ever seen so many different kinds of arrows before.

"I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but just stick to what you know best." Time advised. Not all Hyrules offered this sheer amount of arrow and bow variety, so he could understand Wild's hesitation.

The boy nodded and started testing the weight of different arrows. He finally settled on three different kinds—the weighted ones for high wind, bone-tipped arrows which advertised lightness for longer range, and the traditional iron-tipped arrows with triple fletching for a straighter shot.

"Will this be all?" The shopkeeper asked, eying the bundle of each. Wild then turned and gestured to the crates that he grabbed them from. The shop keep's eyes widened. "You mean you want to buy the entire stock?!"

Wild nodded with a massive grin, and Time decided it was time to step in. "Wild, I highly doubt you need that many arrows." He crossed his arms as Wild looked at him with mild horror. Time felt like he was looking at a kid who was being denied birthday cake on his birthday.

"We'll take thirty of each." Time turned towards the shopkeeper, who nodded and started bundling up the arrows.

Wild then gave Time the most adorable pair of puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen (which was oddly more convincing than Wolfie's). Too bad for Wild that Time had to deal with Skullkid and Malon's puppy eyes for years. "You can pick up more next time we're in this Hyrule. Thirty of each is plenty. Even Twilight doesn't go through that many, and he's a terrible shot."

With that settled, Time dragged Wild out of the archery shop.

Everyone gathered back together in front of the blacksmith's shop. Four was rocking on his feet, eager to go inside. He always seemed to like comparing his own smithing knowledge to the techniques of others.

Time watched Wild as they entered, and it was like the Archery shop but worse. The kid was practically jumping in place as he bolted around the shop, admiring all the swords and shields.

"You act like you've never seen a new weapon." Four commented offhandedly, to which Wild shook his head. "Wait, you've never owned a new sword?" Wild shook his head again.

"How do you get your weapons, then? Secondhand?" Warriors puzzled.

Wild was going to answer when the shopkeeper came over. "I see you're admiring that set." He gestured to the simple knight's sword and shield.

Wild nodded, testing the weight of the sword on his hand with a goofy grin.

"It's normally 5,000 rupees each, but for you I'll toss in the set for only 8,500 rupees!"

Time knew that was bullshit. He was upping the prices, and the sour look on Twilight's face told him that he was correct in assuming so. That sword was a simple knight's sword—worth 3,000 rupees at most. It looked somewhat fancy, but an experienced eye could tell that the gold was paint. It would flake within a week, the way they fought. It was more of a display item rather than something for fighting, though it did look fairly sharp. He was trying to rip them off.

Time was about to call him out on it, when Wild nodded and pulled out a pouch of rupees, surprising the shopkeeper. He passed him the 8,500 rupees without an ounce of hesitation and took the sword and shield happily.

Once they were outside, Hyrule started lecturing Wild on spending so much money without even attempting to barter.

'B-A-R-D-E-R?' Wild questioned, unsure of the sign for the word—never mind the fact that he'd misspelled it.

"It's where you attempt to get the shop to lower their prices." Twilight sighed. "The man purposefully upped the price for you, likely expecting you to either barter or be suckered into paying the full amount—which you did."

Wild ducked his head, bringing his hood back up as he signed a quick but heartfelt apology.

"Just how much money do you think we have?!" Legend glared.

Wild's head lowered even further, and he was starting to shrink in on himself. "Legend, that's enough." Time stated. "Wild, I know you're used to managing your own finances, but right now, we're all a team. We share our money, which is why Legend and Hyrule are so frustrated." He explained. Wild blinked up, a look of 'Oh' on his face.

"So let's touch base—how much money do you have left after that?" Twilight picked up.

Wild held up three fingers, and then six. "Thirty six rupees?" Wind guessed. Wild shook his head before bringing out his Slate. He turned it towards the group and pointed to a little number in the upper right corner of the screen. There, beside the image of a green rupee, was the number 36,924. The group collectively choked.

Warriors whistled appreciatively. "You've got connections."

Wild shook his head, and swiped the screen, showing rubies, sapphires, opals and even diamonds. But they were all still embedded in rock.

"You mine for ores? Like a Goron?" Legend guessed, and Wild nodded.

"Mining?" Wind asked.

"It's where you dig around in mountains and caverns for valuable ores and gemstones to sell or build with." Hyrule explained.

"Huh. Can you take me sometime?" Sky asked, and Wild grinned, nodding his head.

At the very least, they wouldn't have to worry about money for a while.

A rain droplet hit Time's closed eyelid, and he glanced up at the sky. "We should find an inn for the night."

"I know just the place—this way." Twilight quickly led the group through the twisting back alleyways of Castle Town. They entered an inn just as the storm let loose.

"Thanks." Four grinned at Twilight, who nodded.

"It's a little expensive, here, but they should have enough rooms for each of us—if we double up."

"Shouldn't be an issue." Time noted aloud, as Legend glanced in his Rupee bag with a wince.

"I got this." Warriors patted Legend on the shoulder, a confident smirk on his face as he brushed his hair out of his eyes. He made his way towards the front desk and smiled charmingly at the woman. "Hey, there. Afraid I'm new to town. Do you have any rooms available, cutie?"

"I'm afraid I've only got four available right now." She hardly spared him a glance, which must've been a blow to the man's pride. She was likely used to people trying to charm their way into a discount—which was exactly what he was trying to do.

"That's fine, we'll take what you've got." He recovered remarkably quickly, and turned up the charm. "That necklace is beautiful—It really brings out the color in your eyes."

"It's 80 per room." She didn't miss a beat. Time resisted the urge to snort, though Legend had no such reservations.

320 rupees in total, huh? Time was about to dig out his bag when Wild handed over one golden rupee and one red one. The woman blinked in surprise—most people didn't even own silver rupees, let alone gold ones. "R-right. Here's the keys—return them by noon tomorrow." She handed the keys to Wild who gave her a bright grin that had the woman blushing madly—something that Warriors had failed to do despite his attempts at wooing her.

Time felt the edge of his lip curl up as Warriors pouted. Looked like Wild was a natural charmer, even when he wasn't trying. The kid signed a thank you, and the woman handed a slip of paper to Wild before busying herself in the back room.

"What'd she give ya?" Warriors asked as he looked over Wild's shoulder. He let out a small whimper and dramatically grasped at his chest. "Why?! I tried so hard!!"

Legend, curious, walked over to see what had Warriors throwing a hissy fit. He then burst out laughing as Wild's cheeks tinged red. "She gave you her room number!! Oh, Hylia! She likes you! This is great!"

"Be nice Legend." Twilight reminded him.

"I'm not saying Wild's not someone who can catch a girl, I just find it funny that he wasn't even trying and yet Warriors was still outdone!"

"Maybe we should get to our rooms? Sky's falling asleep and he's heavy!" Four grumbled, doing his best to keep Sky upright as the Chosen Hero fought to keep his eyes open.

"All right. Twilight, you're with me." Time spoke up. "Warriors, you and Hyrule can bunk together along with Wind. Legend, you and Four can share. Wild, you'll share with Sky."

He figured that Wild was a light sleeper—more so than the others, at least—and an early riser. Sky tended to sleep so deeply that he hardly made a sound. He was also very difficult to wake up in the mornings, meaning that Wild wouldn't have to worry about waking up the Chosen Hero come morning.

Everyone nodded and made their way into their rooms. Time let his arm cover his eye as he laid down in the bed, the sound of the storm surrounding them. An old tune stuck itself firmly in his mind, and he fell asleep haunted by the distant memory of the Song of Storms.

OMAKE

Jared was a simple man. He made bows and he made arrows and sold them in Castle Town. He saw all kinds of people come in and out of his shop—some more so than others. But that blond kid with the scarred face was an unusual one, for sure. He was rather disappointed that the kid's dad (at least, he thought he was his father. Older brother, maybe?) denied his request to purchase all those arrows.

It would've kept Jared's family fed for a few months, that's for sure. Either way, he couldn't fault the guy for keeping the kid to thirty of each—how would he even carry that much anyways?!

So when that same quiet kid from earlier came back in, Jared was more than a little surprised. "Welcome back. May I help you?" The boy grinned and pointed to the crates of arrows he wanted earlier.

"You want all those arrows?" The kid nodded and tilted his head, as if asking if there was more. "I've got one more crate of each in the back—but that's a lot of rupees. Even just one crate will cost you—"

Jared cut himself off when he saw the kid open a pouch of golden rupees. This kid was loaded!! But unlike a lot of other shop keeps, he wasn't about to raise his prices just because of that. He liked this kid, and if Jared could keep him coming back to his shop, then there'd be no doubt that he'd provide him a stable income.

"I guess that solves that." He grinned and took the payment. "Tell ya what? I like you, kid! I'll throw in a bow for free! Take whatever one you want." The boy's eyes brightened considerably as he surveyed his options. "What's your name?"

W–I–L–D.

"Wild, huh? Good name." It was an odd name, and Jared wasn't fluent in sign by any means. He knew the alphabet, and that was about it. But now he knew the name of his favorite customer. And he wouldn't forget it. "My name's Jared. I own this place. Come by anytime—I'm always open for you."

The kid beamed and thanked him.

Yeah, Jared would go out of his way for this kid—because he'd be damned before he let this kid shop at another archery shop.

And if the kid's dad ever asked him about it? He'd deny it. Customer confidentiality and all that.