Bullets flashed not two inches from his leg as Wind scampered down the path, bare feet slapping painfully against the uneven bricks. His stolen bag clutched tightly in his tiny hands and the shouts of the rich snob he stole it from echoing through the alley, he picked his way over a pile of scraps and broken glass, managing not to slice himself. His fluffy blonde hair bounced as he pounded away, darting over to a nearby drainpipe and, putting the bag between his teeth, he began to climb. Another bang, then another, and the Sailor's eyes flew wide in shock, nearly losing his grip. Reaching up, he boosted further away from the ground, doing his best to ignore the warm wetness of fresh blood dripping from his ankle. The pipe trembled ominously as he swung from hand to hand, adrenaline beating in time with his heart, breath snatched away by the thrill of the chase.

Wind was part of a notorious group called 'The Chain', a family-like gang who stole, pranked and attacked their way through life in the slums. He, despite being the youngest, happened to be the deftest escaper with a taste for risky theft. The group leader, Time, a scarred man whose favourite pastime was beating up people who'd wronged him, was renowned for worrying about his boys. 'His boys' included Wind. The boy knew full well that if he didn't get back soon, Time would make sure he died of boredom by putting him on house arrest, and probably making sure he was also under supervision at all times.

The drainpipe wobbled; he froze. A few seconds, nothing happened. His ankle hurt. He pulled himself further up as the pipe gave with a creaking squeal, bending backwards like a contortionist. Wind leapt off just as it snapped, landing in a heap safely on the bowing roof of their building, whist the drainpipe hit the bricks below, clattering. He took a moment, just to make sure everything was okay, and also to notice that his foot was throbbing. Oops. Getting up, resolving to ignore the burn, Wind took the bag back into his hand and slid onto his front, dropping through the empty window frame. There was a crunch from the floor a he landed, which didn't really sound great, but at least it wasn't his joints. He was met by the imposing figure of Twilight, an underground ring fighter who specialised in the arts of winning, and also breaking bones. Other people's bones, not his own. With a silent nod, Twi welcomed him back, though Wind did catch him staring at his injured foot. Putting up a brave face, Wind strutted jauntily inside, hoping to sweet Hylia he didn't look like he was trying not to cry. With Twi's grunted warning, he avoided the more rotten parts of the floorboards and also the half molded over remains of last week's questionable meal.

The rotting house was occupied by thirteen eccentric boys, ranging from mid-adults to young teens. Time and First were the resident adults, with Time being the more mature of the two. First was silent speaking only in sign, and dealt in subtle paid assassinations. Twilight and Warriors, both nineteen, Warriors being quite the character. The Captain used to be a soldier, but was retired after a fight went wrong and he got his spine shattered. He ended up paralysed from the waist down, but managed to keep up a smile even when it hurt. Sky, Wild and Four were all seventeen, but while Sky was gentle and sweet, Wild was wanted for various felonies, namely arson, arson, arson and more arson, and Four just so happened to be on the run after murdering his completely irrelevant cousin. Sky's area of forte was, surprisingly, flattering people out of their money, which had lots of uses when it came to keeping the group afloat.

Minish and Cadence were both very peaceful, being the resident singer and busker respectively. They were the best of friends, and went everywhere together, playing their instruments and singing for the market goers in the hopes of making a few precious rupees. Then there was Legend and Hyrule. Legend was a bitter person, his past locked behind heterochromatic eyes. One a bright pink, the other a deep golden yellow. He was abrasive and hard to talk to, dealing in violence and makeshift weaponry. Hyrule was his upbeat, adventurous protégé, who never stayed still for long. He was another thief, like Wind, but instead of normal items that could be sold, Hyrule stole random objects just to be irritating, like people's light bulbs.

And then, lastly,  there was Wind, the 'baby' of the group, despite being fourteen. That 'baby' crept into the main room, stolen bag slung over one shoulder. Sky looked up from his knitting,  Cadence's head resting on his lap. 

"Oh!" Sky said, giving the youngest a beaming smile. "You're back!" 

Wind saluted, then carefully climbed onto the deepest armchair and joined the cuddle pile, being mindful of his shot ankle. Cadence hummed a welcome and wrapped his arms around Wind. 

"Hello there Wind. How goes your day?"

 The blonde responded by handing Cadence the bag. With a little gasp of glee, the busker opened the clasps with nimble fingers and looked over the expensive contents.

"Well well..." A snarly voice came from over by the empty doorframe. "Look who's back. Gave the Old Man a heart attack, you did."

 Legend walked over, perching on the armrest of the mouldering chair. "Good to see you, Sailor. Get something on that foot."

 The veteran slapped Wind on the shoulder, then stood and left. Cadence tugged Wind down; Sky shifted his arms so he could continue knitting without being hindered by the teens on his lap. Heavy footsteps signalled Twilight's entrance and the fighter took a seat on the floor. Wind pried Cadence's arms off him. slipping out the boy's hold, ignoring the protests of the musician. He winced, feeling his ankle twinge. Minish trotted in, dragging a very dead-to-the-world Four with him. 

"Wind! Wind is back!" 

The young blonde slung his back over one shoulder, gritting his teeth and sauntering out. Wars would want to see his spoils, and Wind wanted to show him. 

The door to Wars' room was creaky and dank, and it made Wind cringe a little. "He-e-ey?! Warriors?"

 The sailor shoved the door open, and the darkness of the room spilled at his feet. He took a step, the floor creaking ominously. 

"You there? Hellooo?!"

 An answering creak, closer to him, and the left wheel of Wars' abused wheelchair came into view. 

"Sailor!"

 Wind made a little happy sound, then threw himself onto his adoptive father's lap. Warriors wrapped him in a bear hug. 

"How's my little seabird today, hmm?" 

Wind proudly showed him the satchel with a grin of mischief. "Look what I found! Or, well, some rich guy had it, so I thought 'well he's got everything, so why shouldn't I take it?' And look, it's really nice!"

Time knocked on the doorframe, his cold eyes lit with a sort of concern. Worry for his youngest boy. First stood at Time's left shoulder, silent as always. 

"Greetings, Seabird," First signed, his leather clad fingers dancing through the words.

 "Hey First."

 Time cleared his throat. "Well, Wind? Care to explain how you ended up robbing a rich man when you were sent out to scavenge. I was beginning to wonder if you'd gotten hit by a car."

 Oops. He'd managed to worry Time. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Didn't get hit by a car, I'm not that dumb. Did get shot though." 

First sighed soundlessly, and rested his head on Time's shoulder. "Forgot? How does one simply 'forget' to scavenge food?" 

"Did you just say you got shot?" Time narrowed his eyes, staring the sailor down.

"Maaaaaaybe..."

Warriors chuckled, a hint of concern in his eyes. "He can be a little brainless, can't he? But, kid was raised by himself, he has a good eye for treasure. If we sell those things he's brought us, we could eat actual food for once, or maybe get more blankets. I hate watching the young ones get cold."

Sensing that the adults were about to have a boring discussion, Wind slipped out the room. Maybe he'd go and find Wild. Wild was always fun. Or  Four. But Four was a walking time bomb, so... Wind hopped into the hall, swinging himself onto the stair rail and sliding down it. The banister gave an awful squeak of protest as he whizzed down it like the air itself, nearly falling off its rusty mounts as he went flying off the end, landing on his knees and crashing into the wall, breaking the planks. Wild's awful singing could be heard from their tiny, rather dingy, almost-but-not-quite-a-functional-kitchen as he clattered about trying to put together a decent meal. "The flames craaaaawl, the waters riiiiiiise, the liiiiiightning strikes, the wind siiiiiighs! A beeeeeeast beyond the divine fouuuuuur, awaits the Herooooo forevermoooo-ooo-ooore!"

"Hey Wild!" Wind chorused, and the feral cook spun on his heel, knife leaving his hand and hitting the rotten wood two inches from Wind's head. It sank handle deep and vibrated from the force of the throw. "Nice shot, dude. Shame you missed." 

Wind extracted the weapon, wiping it on his tunic before handing it back to Wild. "So... You got time to kill? I sure do." 

Wild hummed, then picked his knife off of Wind's palm and flung it into the kitchen. The crash of a pan being knocked to the floor rang in their ears and the arsonist gave an unnerving feral grin. "I'll see if 'Roolie's around. I heard there's some newbies around here, some group of girls or something. We gotta keep them away, and what better way to do that than with the best thing ever..." The feral hero reached into his back pocket. "Fire!"

"Perfect. Sounds great." He giggled, taking the slightly damp matches from Wild. "That's gonna be fun."

Hyrule was searching through his collection of light bulbs, the glass clinking softly as he rummaged through the box. He held one up to the window, admiring the way the fading light made it glow softly. Turning it, his green eyes roved over the smooth surface. It looked so pretty, he nearly laughed out loud. And then the peace was ruined, the door flew open with a crash, Hyrule dropped his light bulb and a cheerily grinning Four entered alongside Wild and a newly bandaged Wind. 

"Ah! Oh my Hylia, give me some warning next time..." Hyrule whined, then silently mourned his dropped light bulb. 

"Oh my Hylia, I am so, sooooo sorry, I didn't mean to make you drop it... I'll buy you a new o-" Four snapped from the verge of sympathetic tears to a hard smile, his eyes shifted from red to blue and he gave a confident smirk. "Ignore whatever I just said, suffer bitch. Now... We have this problem we're gonna go burn. You've been volunteered to knock on the door of their shed and tell em we're torching the place."

~
Hey hey hey, so I'm sorry I've been gone for so long... I've figured out my creative block! Yay! I just need to be anywhere that isn't in my house and suddenly I just get ideas. Maybe my geeky room just isnt geek enough. Oh well. Anyways, here's some food for you. Shadow Of The Fallen Lands would've been updated but I kinda sorta maybe was stupid enough to forget the notebook that contains the first draft, which I need to write it.

So... Yeah. Feeling dumb. 

In any case, G0ddessSw0rdF1 out!