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Legend knows it's stupid to go off on his own. This is merely a fact of being an adventurer, let alone a hero, let alone one of nine heroes traveling in a time that is not his. Going off alone invites attacks, kidnappings, torture and murder and those banana obsessed freaks that keep trying to stab Wild. Time (and Warriors and Wild and Twilight) would scold him something fierce if he got caught or got hurt somehow.
But he can't help it. He needs to see the Blupees.
Wild had told them, as they set up camp, that the mountain they are resting near has always been perfectly safe. He explained that it's called Satori Mountain, that they're beside what is called Rutile Lake (and hadn't Time and Twilight both gotten such looks on their faces at that!), and that a great Lord of the Mountain protects travelers nearby from the worst of the monsters. For a group such as them, the Octoroks littering the path to the lake are easily dispatched, and nothing more dangerous lurks while the sun is up. The Lord, which is appropriately called Satori, cares for everything under its dominion. Including, Wild had said, the Blupees. Legend remembers the confused looks everyone shared as he sneaks further into the trees. What the fuck is a Blupee?
A Blupee, Wild told them, is a mystical otherworldly being that takes on the form of a rabbit. He couldn't tell them what Blupees actually do, just that they drop rupees when frightened. Legend is pretty sure that isn't the entire truth, but Wild wouldn't say any more.
Now, long past dinner, Legend's got a pocket full of apples and a pouch of rupees on his belt, and he'll be halfway across the mountain before first watch even realizes he never came back from the bathroom. He maybe should've told Sky his plan to trek across the mountain, but it'll be fine. He won't be gone long, and Wild had promised they were safe. Even the Yiga dare not upset the Lord of the Mountain.
Still, as Legend walks, he can't help but be a little weary. Will his attempt to see the Blupees irritate Satori? He can't see how it would, but he's got apples and rupees both just in case the Lord demands he pay offerings or reparations. And also, much as it feels silly to admit, just in case the Blupees prefer to eat money over apples. Wild was unclear on their diet when Twilight asked, having never gotten close enough even to touch one.
Legend doesn't want to touch, not really. He just wants to offer them some food. Apples felt a safe choice; he likes apples in his rabbit form, and everyone knows that sometimes he'll borrow a couple from Wild for a snack. It's not like the little hoarder doesn't have literally hundreds, anyway. What difference will two or three missing make?
He curses softly to himself as he stumbles on a branch. It's dark out here under the trees, but he daren't bring a light. If the Blupees are like normal rabbits, sudden changes in light might hurt their eyes. He really doesn't want to scare them away. He can't even say why he wants to see them so bad, why he's so drawn to the idea. Something in him is beckoning, though. Could the magic that makes him a rabbit be similar to the magic that gives them worldly form?
Once he's far enough away that a few skittering rocks won't alert the others, Legend picks up the pace. He doubts Sky will raise too much of a fuss about his prolonged absence, but he's not willing to bet on it. He knows he was rubbish at hiding his interest earlier, but sometimes even he is utterly see-through. It's like when Wind sees a seagull: he will always, every time, point it out and try to coax it down to say hello. Just because none of the others know why Legend is particularly fond of rabbits doesn't mean they can't see that he is.
The rabbit tucked close to his soul chitters away as he creeps through the night, every sense on alert and ears on a constant swivel. The rabbit form translated a few things at the end of the adventure, increased hearing and finer motor control of his ears mainly. Even though he knows logically that he is unlikely to find danger, he will always be cautious. Better safe than sorry.
Once he leaves the trees entirely, the going is a little easier. Without the shade of the branches, he can actually somewhat see. The moon is bright tonight, just starting to wane, and there's an odd sort of glow coming from the other side of the mountain. Legend assumes this is where he will find his targets. He taps one boot with the other, granting him a small burst of speed to cross the rocky terrain a little easier. Grass whips at his calves as he goes, more ticklish than painful.
He comes to a stop at an odd junction near the top of the mountain. The rock has split into three here, or maybe it's three separate rocks. Legend isn't sure which would be weirder. The glowing light is coming from the section off to his left, and there's a smattering of flowers in the center of the divide. Legend steps into it, heart pumping just a bit harder as his view of the sky is mostly obstructed by rock. He's never been the underground sort.
He turns toward the soft blue-green glow, watching as it fades with his approach. Was it meant to beckon travelers? To bring worshippers here that they might find and speak to the Lord of the Mountain? Legend can't say for sure. He supposes it doesn't really matter. He's here now, the apples weighing his pocket. He'll have to cut them up, if the Blupees are the same size as normal rabbits.
He steps from the rock fissure into a picturesque scene straight from a painting. A gorgeous cherry blossom tree sits atop a little hill, with the pond directly at its roots. Blossoms litter the ground where the breeze has shaken them free. Those flowers Wild loves so much, the ones he calls silent princesses, nestle at the base of a twining of roots. These things are all things he notices, in one quick fleet glance, but it's the small, gently glowing tufts of fur that capture his attention. There's Blupees all over the grove.
Wild had said the Blupees looked like rabbits from behind, if rabbits were blue, and glowed, and had fronds instead of ears. Legend can see all of that and, as he takes a single step forward toward the pool, he can feel the magic. It brushes against his softly, like a warm hug, and each Blupee turns to face him in unison. Their faces are odd, heart shaped with red and yellow eyes. The shape reminds Legend more of an owl, including what looks like a beak in place of a mouth. They're alert, he can read it in their body language, but not wary. Not afraid of him.
Legend reaches slowly into his pocket. He isn't sure slow versus fast would make a difference, not when they can undoubtedly feel the transformation magic on him, but he doesn't want to frighten them. When the apple is revealed, the Blupee closest to his tilts her head just a little. He sits down right where he is, criss cross on the ground, and pulls the knife from his boot. He can feel the instinctive spike of fear run through them, and makes a big show of ignoring them as he begins to slice the apple. He cuts it into 8 slices, then cuts each of those slices in half. By the time he's done, the nearest Blupee has hopped close enough that he could touch her if he extended his foot. Instead of doing that, he lifts up a chunk of apple and tosses it gently in her direction. She doesn't flinch when it hits the ground in front if her, nor does she move to take it.
"It's okay," Legend says softly. "It won't hurt you. It's a gift." To prove his point, he pops a piece into his mouth, chewing and swallowing. It's a good apple.
The Blupee tilts her head again, measuring him. Then she hops forward to where the piece of apple lays in the grass. She scoots it up, sniffs once, then settles. She sets to munching.
That decides it. Slowly, one after another, they all come toward him. Some stay farther away than others. Legend doesn't mind. They're right to be wary of Hylians. "Wild is going to be so angry," he tells them quietly. "He said he's always wanted to pet one of you."
He passes out more apple pieces. A small part of him is content, quiet. The little rabbit that usually spikes fear into his heart has settled, for now.
Once the apples are gone, he expects the Blupees to flee. Some do, scurrying a ways away before vanishing into puffs of blue light, or dust, or whatever it actually is. The first to approach him instead comes closer, nestling into the grass by his side, curling up and resting her head on dainty paws. Legend hardly breathes, not wanting to disturb her.
Another, much smaller Blupee, one who hasn't yet learned to fear his kind, hops right up to him. The little kit startles him when it climbs directly into his lap. Legend goes stiff. Mother rabbits are protective of their young. This little Blupee is bold, which means the one curled next to him is likely its mother. The baby sniffs his tunic before curling up and seemingly going to sleeping.
Legend can't help it. He brings one finger down on the kitten's head, gently petting along the fur. A tiny chittering starts up, one he recognizes from the times he's spent curled up on Ravio's lap. The little Blupee is purring. He feels his heart clench at the cuteness, wishes he had Wild's Slate to take a picto.
He sits there, unmoving beyond petting the baby, for long enough that the other Blupees begin to go about their business again. He's tired, and more relaxed that he has been in ages. He could see himself falling asleep here. His brothers will find him eventually. He knows Wild saw the look on his face; the Blupee pond will be the first place he checks when Sky inevitably wakes him.
Time passes. Legend manages to fall into a light doze, leaned back against the hill with the Blupee kitten still in his lap. It's a comfortable night, bright and warm even without the turquoise hue that drew him here, though he vaguely wonders at one point why the light disappeared as he approached, but the Blupees remained.
The moon is low on the horizon when he hears them calling for him. He jolts awake, startling the Blupee kitten. He expects it to flee, but it merely chitters at him as if scolding. The mother Blupee chirps back at her kit, unaffected by Legend's jump. He pets them both in apologize, but doesn't call back. He knows how sensitive rabbit ears are, it only makes sense theirs would be as well.
They get close enough for his sensitive ears to make out words. "I'm telling you," Wild says. "He's going to be here. You didn't see the look in his eyes, Sky."
"I just don't get why he would come looking for them when you said they don't like to be seen," comes Sky's reply.
Legend fights back a sleepy laugh. Sky knows exactly why Legend would be so curious about these not-quite-rabbits. The fake confusion is solely for Wild's benefit.
Two figures come up the hill, from a different direction than the rock, and stop dead in their tracks. "Legend?" Wild asks in a whisper.
Legend raises a hand in greeting. The other is petting the mother Blupee, who is still nestled against his thigh. She looks at the newcomers and chirps. "They're my brothers," he tells her quietly. "They won't harm you."
"How did you do that?" Wild says, awe clear in his voice. His hand drifts to his Slate, and ordinarily Legend isn't one for pictos, but in this case he'll gladly make an exception. "They always run from me."
Legend gives them a rare grin, right as the Slate goes click. "I fed them," he shares. "They like apples."
Sky bursts out laughing. Wild stands baffled. "Apples?" He repeats. "This whole time, I've been trying to give them carrots!"
Something in Legend's head says, in a wry female voice, "The young hero also shoots at us for rupees. It does not harm us, but it tickles. That is why we run."
Legend gently shifts the baby off his lap and stands. His joints creak from being in the same position for hours. He pulls the last apple from his pocket and crosses to the cherry blossom tree. He doesn't know what compels him to place the apple gently on the roots, but he makes sure it's steady before he turns to face his brothers.
"She said you shoot them," he accuses, one finger pointing at Wild.
Wild squawks, already stammering apologies and excuses, as Sky shares an amused look with Legend. He's going to have fun telling Sky and Twilight about this later. And maybe, next time they end up in this era, he'll bring more apples for the Blupees. He's willing to bet they'd like the ones from his orchard.