Of Ghosts and Graves
Little backstory here. I was chatting on the LU discord about how the other Links usually have rupees hidden in their graves in-game, and normally they 'grave rob' in their games. Since I've got a story in the works called A Hero's Spirit wherein Wild is a ghost (but the Chain has no idea he's actually dead) I wanted to explore how he'd react to learning about this. :)
So here! Have Spirit!Wild (but shhh... it's a secret to everybody) learning this little tidbit about the Chain. Also, the ghosts of the Champions and Zelda are with Wild, and he can see and hear them clearly. Wind can also see spirits, but only when he wants to.
Wild followed the heroes into the graveyard. There was a calming air about the place even as several crows eyed the trespassers with a wary eye. He smiled softly, nodding to a few spirits that were milling about, enjoying the afternoon sun. What puzzled him was the way a few of them glared at Twilight. Had he done something offensive here at some point?
"Are we going to grab some extra cash?" Legend raised an eyebrow as he helped Hyrule stand. Warriors was still supporting Wind as well, as the Sailor had managed to nearly break his ankle in their last fight.
"Not this time, but you can grab some if you want, I suppose." Twi hummed.
"Extra cash?" Wild frowned. He'd slowly gotten used to the fact that rupees just appeared out of pots and grass in the others' Hyrules, but he didn't see anything of the sort here. The grass was already trimmed rather neatly, though there wasn't much to show. In fact, the graveyard looked somewhat desolate despite the serene atmosphere.
"Well, this place has seen better days." Revali huffed, gently wiping some dirt from one of the headstones.
"Pardon me." An older hylian ghost approached the spirits. "Are you with that group?"
"We are." Zelda nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong?"
"That one." He gestured towards Twilight. "He's been known to dig up rupees from our graves."
Wild stiffened at that, and he noticed his spirit friends do the same. Suddenly, the group's talk of extra cash made sense in the worst way. "Twi?" He spoke slowly, doing his best to reign in his anger. He didn't want his Spirit Flames to come bursting out, after all. He waited until he had the rancher's attention. "You don't mean to tell me… that you rob the dead, right?" The edge in his voice had the group of heroes shifting with uncertainty.
"I mean, sometimes money gets tight." Twilight shrugged. "In Ordon, it's actually a tradition. People are buried with rupees so that when times get tough the future generations can have something to live off of."
Wild stared in a mixture of disbelief and disappointment. Everyone looked guilty. "Have… have you all done this?" He breathed when none of them met his gaze. "I can't believe you." His anger was starting to grow, and he noticed Mipha in particular looked just as furious. "If that's the tradition in your village, then fine. The dead have given you their permission before their time. But I highly doubt you've gotten permission from these people to rob their graves."
"Wild, calm down." Warriors reasoned. "It's just some headstones, it's not like they're using them at the moment anyways."
"That's not the point!" Wild snapped angrily. "There are some lines you shouldn't cross, and desecrating the dead is one of them!!"
"Says the guy who sets the whole damn forest on fire." Legend shot him a deadpanned look, but it quickly vanished when the Champion's anger landed upon him.
"A forest fire is very different than this! Have you ever once thought about how the spirits of these people would feel?! Maybe there's a damned reason why the Poes you loathe so much attack you on site! I would, too if you robbed my fucking grave." He took several deep breaths. It'd been a long time since he was this angry, but the entire situation had hit a nerve. Whether the tears running down his face were hurt, frustration or anger, he really didn't know, but Urbosa's warm hand on his shoulder was the only thing that was keeping him somewhat calm at the moment. "I can't tell you all how disappointed I am in you. And I hope that at least one of you has stayed away from something like this."
"Wild…" Sky quietly spoke up, but he didn't seem to know what to say. At the very least, Wind seemed to understand what Wild was getting at. Likely because the boy could see the dead, too.
"We're sorry." Time apologized at last. "I had no idea you felt so strongly about something like this, but we aren't here to rob any graves. We can obtain money other ways."
"Come on." Twilight's head was low and his voice was soft. It was obvious that he was beating himself up a bit after Wild's lashing, but the Champion really couldn't find it in himself to sympathize. He'd said nothing he hadn't meant, after all.
"Thanks, kid. I know you can't hear us, but thank you." The older spirit smiled softly at Wild. He let his gaze flicker towards the man for a brief moment, watching as the ghost's eyes widened in surprise before movement drew his attention yet again towards the heroes.
Wild clenched his jaw when Twilight approached a grave, but since the local spirits didn't seem put off by it, he kept his mouth shut. He carefully shoved the headstone back to show an old stone staircase. "It's down here." He sounded subdued as he spoke, and Wild ignored the small twinge of almost-guilt that wanted him to reach out and tell him it was okay. Because it wasn't okay. As a member of the dead, Wild had every right to be angry. After all, he was the only real voice of the spirits.
He paused when he felt a swirling of familiar magic. An almost bell-like ringing on the edge of his hearing was his only hint to what lay up ahead. As the group wandered down the dank damp underground path, Wild felt something in him relax. Tension left his body as they emerged into a larger chamber where a Fairy Fountain lit up the area. Hyrule in particular seemed to be quite relieved.
"Look." Twilight stated softly the moment he could get Wild alone. "I…" He paused, trying to find the words. "I'm sorry for angering you. You're right. I shouldn't've dug up the graves beyond Ordon. It may be a tradition there, but I suppose it isn't one here. I just never stopped to think about it, is all. But having traveled to other Hyrules, I know that cultures can differ even from just one area to the next."
Wild let out a deep breath. "I won't say it's okay, because it isn't. I'm not the one you should apologize to." He sent Twilight a significant look. "But you can start by returning what you stole. It's one thing if a spirit gives you something. But to go in and take it without permission is… It's actually a capital offense among my Zora, did you know?"
"Is it really?"
"The Zora honor the dead even above the goddesses." Wild explained, idly noting that the rest of the heroes were listening to the conversation as well. "And many of my good friends are counted among the fallen as well." He admitted softly. He'd avoided talking about his journey as much as he could because he didn't want to let anything slip. He'd explained only the bare basics about The Great Calamity, his amnesia, and that his journey took several years. He'd waved off his death and revival as recovering from an injury for a century under some Sheikah tech, and nobody'd bothered him with questions after he blatantly shut down Wind.
His admittance about the 'loss' of several good friends seemed to soothe any raw edges from the fight earlier. A light of understanding flashed in many of the heroes' eyes. "I just…" Wild continued softly. "I've picked up a lot of traits from many races across my land. And almost all the cultures, the dead are just something you don't mess with. Gravestones, markers, even the trees around the Sheikah settlements. The only free game are the weapons, and that's only because we needed them to survive, but we don't go digging up graves for them."
"I suppose there's a lot of differences between us." Hyrule hummed. "Nobody really cares about graves in my Hyrule. Partially because so many people are gone and those left behind are desperate."
"I always ask permission." Wind nodded firmly. "Most of the time, they say I can have whatever I need."
"Wait, you can talk to ghosts?" Warriors stared at Wind for a moment.
"It's from one of my journeys." The boy waved him off with a proud smile, as if he'd been waiting to say the phrase. Wild internally snorted in amusement. Knowing Wind, he was just excited to be able to parrot something he'd heard Time say once or twice. That kid really looked up to the Old Man.
"Look." Wild ran a hand through his hair. "What's done is done. All I ask is that you please don't do it again. And if you must, then don't let me know. Because if I find out you've done something like that while I'm traveling with you, I'll boycott the cooking pot for a week." His threat made several heroes shudder. "That aside, I'm going to go ahead and start on lunch."
If their sandwiches were a tad spicier than the group preferred, then nobody dared complain.
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