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There were odd things about all of them, but Time’s strange traits sometimes stood out to Four. The way Time could tell them time of day down to the minute and never be wrong, or the way he seemed able to talk with fairies in a way even Hyrule couldn’t. But strangest among them was the way Time treated the forests of Hyrule.
He was gentle among the trees, often relying on their trunks to support his weight or hang his clothes even as he nestled into their roots to rest and took care not to scuff the bark and rip away leaves. When they needed firewood, Time had very specific rules about which trees Twilight or Wild could chop. Dead trees always went first before all others, the ones too sick to recover after that. Never old trees, never the young ones. Prayers had to be said and Time seemed to seek out permission from the woods before allowing any cutting to be done. And, if they could help it, Twilight and Wild were only to hack away a branch or two rather than fell the whole thing.
But as deeply as Time cared for the forest, it did not seem to care about him in the same way. It was friendlier to him than Warriors or Legend. It would give him berries to pick and fruits to pluck, it provided sturdy kindling and herbs, but it was not as protective as it was of Hyrule, nor did it open its secrets to Time as it did for Four. The forest even accepted Twilight, blight and all, more readily than it did Time.
Why was that?
It nagged at Four. He had some magic in tune with the land himself. Hyrule’s presence sang along with the symphony of the forest while Four’s magic harmonized with it. Twilight seemed to play accompaniment. Time’s song was off. The melody matched, but not the notes. He was warped somehow, borne of the forest and out of tune with it all the same.
“You okay?” Hyrule asked.
Four was drawn from his thoughts, glancing up at the traveler. He noticed the others were looking his way, and knew he was wearing concern on his face again. The smith’s eyes flickered between red and green and then settled into their usual hazel as he nodded. The others took the gesture in stride, returning to their own tasks.
“Just thinking,” Four sighed.
“Yeah?” the traveler prodded.
Four frowned, folding his arms. “Does Time seem weird to you?”
Hyrule paused, tipping his head. “I guess. Maybe the way he walks.”
“That’s a limp,” Four pointed out with a smile.
Hyrule shrugged.
“I mean when we’re in the trees like this,” the smith explained. “Can you feel it?”
Hyrule’s face softened into a curious frown. He nodded. “Sure. Kinda like when you find a snag or something.”
“Exactly!” Four agreed. “Why do you think that is?”
Hyrule shook his head softly. “Dunno. The forest is too big for us to understand, really.”
“It feels like he used to be part of it.”
“He did,” Hyrule confirmed. “The fairies told me he’s the forest’s child.”
“Do you think he made it mad somehow?”
The traveler hummed. “No, I think it’s something else.”
Four knit his brow, puzzled.
“I think maybe it’s…like when you go home after a long time, things are a little different right? You said you help out in the forge, but you also said your grandpa’s giving more of the work to Gulley now than you, right? Because you’re off doing hero stuff.”
Four nodded.
“I think it’s like that. Time’s just grown up too much, maybe. He doesn’t need the forest as much as he used to, and it’s giving him the freedom for it.”
Four gathered his frown. “Well I’ll always need Grampa.”
“And the forest is always here for Time, too. I just think maybe it doesn’t want him to feel like he has to stay there forever. I think it’s giving him a place to come back to, but it’s not a place it wants him to be trapped in.”
Four nodded, considering. “That’s pretty grown-up,” he said.
Hyrule laughed sheepishly. “Well I’ve thought about it lots too. I talked to the fairies about it a little bit, because I was curious.”
“Do you think he misses it?” Four asked, letting his gaze fall on Time.
Across the burgeoning camp, Time had the captain in a headlock, his knuckles scrubbing at Warriors’ scalp. Warriors squawked, swatting at the older hero as Time spun them both around with a boastful smile.
“I think he misses it the same way you miss your grandpa,” Hyrule sighed. “Besides, people like us—you, me, Time—we’re sorta stuck between the forest and the fields, right? If we’re in one place, we miss the other.”
Four nodded, considering it. “You’ve got a point. I feel bad when I don’t see the Picori for a while.”
“Me too, ‘cept it’s the fairies. But I also feel bad when I’m not visiting the princesses.”
“Same.”
“So I think it’s just that,” Hyrule determined. “Time used to only be from one place, but now he’s not, and he’ll never be from just one place again.”
“I wonder if he ever gets sad about it,” Four sighed.
“Probably,” Hyrule answered. “But I think being sad about it just means it’s important to him, and there’s a lot of love there.”
Time released the captain finally. Warriors chided the man as he fixed his hair. Time only snickered, clearly proud of himself. He stood there amongst the heroes, his brethren across the ages, surrounded by the tall trees of old forest. It was a strange intersection, Four felt, forever torn between the ancient wilds and the age of men.
But as the feeling settled, Four found he felt less lonely himself. He watched as Hyrule dutifully dropped off a bundle of kindling where Wild dug out a firepit. Four and Hyrule weren’t so different from Time, nor was he different from them. It was nice to be among familiar company, strangers as they were.