Hi there, we're Fanun! This story was originally a tragic one-shot but after a few requests we decided to rewrite the whole thing and turn it into a proper story. I hope you enjoy My Beast and drop a line or two if you do! Also, if you're interested in beta reading a chapter, PM us.

WARNING: This story is about boys in love, so if you have a problem with it, who cares? Also steer clear if you're put off by werewolves and all that. Wolf Link/Ike/Link.

MY BEAST

CHAPTER 1 THE BEAST OF FARON WOODS (Ver. 2)

Ilia couldn't let him take the route through the forest. "Mister!" She called out to him.

The stranger on horseback rode on undisturbed. He had either not heard her or ignored her but she wasn't one to give up so easily. She knew what was waiting for the unsuspecting people who ventured into the woods, the horrible danger they put themselves into. She broke out into a jog to catch up with him.

"Hey, mister!" She repeated in a more irate tone as she reached his side. "You shouldn't go through those woods!"

The man glanced at her, he was a tall solemn stranger with messy blue hair and deep, dark eyes that revealed no emotion. A scarf hid the lower part of his face. His brow seemed constantly burrowed in anger as if he carried a grudge on the world. He was wearing clothing suitable for a knight and a heavy two-handed sword on his back. "It's the fastest route." He replied without even slowing down.

"You don't understand! There's a vicious beast in those woods!" Ilia explained anxiously, she looked up at him with large blue eyes, her blonde hair tousled by the wind. "Stay a few days! We've set up traps, it'll surely be caught within a few days!"

"There's someplace I have to be." The stranger said through pursed lips, unmoved by her petition. He turned to look at her with those dark, demanding eyes, their glare icy cold. Ilia wasn't easily frightened but she felt her knees turn to jelly and a shiver run down her back. He wasn't at all the kind of person she would like to be friends with. "How vicious is this beast?" He asked, pondering his options.

"Huh?" Ilia paused for a second. "It's big and hairy with huge teeth-"

"How many has it killed?" The stranger cut her off, irked by her response.

"Killed?" She repeated, it was such a horrible word and yet he seemed to use it so casually. "I don't… know… nobody yet? But it's a vicious beast, it preys on lone travelers like you!" She explained, truly believing her cause. She had been frightened almost to death the other day when she had been picking berries and the beast had attacked her. She had run away as fast as her feet could carry her, leaving the blueberries she had been picking behind.

"If it hasn't killed anyone yet, how do you know it's vicious?" The stranger asked, his dark eyes drilling holes into her. She returned the intense gaze, the hateful accusing glare with equal intensity. All she wanted was to protect him, warn him of the danger ahead. If he still chose to ride into certain death, well, it was his loss.

Ilia frowned. "It's a huge beast! It has fangs like-"

"Just because it looks like a beast you assume it is one?" The stranger cut her off again, talking to her like she was dumb. No, like she was the scum of the Earth. He encouraged his horse to pick up speed, slowly leaving her behind. Their conversation, as unpleasant as it had been, was over.

Ilia watched after him, cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted one last warning. "It'll eat you for breakfast!"

"I'll take my chances," he murmured, passing a sign that read Now leaving Ordon Village, have a safe trip!

His horse trudged on slowly, steadily, as the village fell behind him. The voices of life faded away the deeper he rode. Magnificent trees taller than he had ever seen surrounded him, their foliage rustled softly in the wind. He closed his eyes, letting his body rock back and forth on horseback softly as they treaded through the forest. Treetops filtered soft light. He pulled down the scarf around his neck, breathing freely once again. He revealed in such peace and solitude.

Ike had never been a people-person. In fact, if he could, he avoided all contact with everyone. The only ones that mattered to him were his four-legged friends and his sister, Mist. She was barely fourteen, the amber of his eye, the meaning of his life ever since their father had suddenly died. Heart-attack, they had said. Back-stabbing, he had thought.

Ike would never have come to Faron Woods had he not been on his way to the Smash Tournament. Why would a loner like him want to take part in an event with such high TV coverage? He had never cared for fame or glory and winning it meant endless interviews, social events, photo shoots, endorsements, probably a reality TV-show and whatnot…

Ike wasn't attending the tournament to become famous or remembered although it would've been nice if the princess Elincia had not forgotten about him in the first place. After all, he had secured peace in the country. He attended the tournament because there was a money prize. Without it he wouldn't be able to pay his mortgage on the house he and his sister lived in. Mist was still to young, she couldn't help out with the bills yet and all their animals needed food and shelter. Everyone, including princess Elincia had gracefully forgotten him, a war hero, when he had had no future use.

He had ended up taking odd jobs with mercenaries around the country doing whatever for whoever. Their tasks had wandered from capturing unfaithful husbands to looting conquered castles. Usually when money was involved, there was someone who tried to take it from the others. Mercenaries were a lot of back-stabbing, throat-cutting, double-crossing bastards to put it nicely. The tournament offered him an escape route, if he were to win, he would no longer need to associate with such hateful lot.

He could retire, spend time with his sister and their animals. Live in peace, be left alone. That was all he wanted.

He was alarmed by a whine, coming somewhere off the trail. He halted his horse, it threw its head back in disapproval but agreed to stop eventually. Ike listened intently, it was the whimper of a creature in distress. He had always had a natural fondness for animals of all sizes and shapes. He often brought rescued animals home and spoke to them as if they were human. It had sometimes annoyed Mist, but knowing how much her brother loved animals she had learned to love them too. Their house was a sanctuary, not only for the four-legged but also for Ike.

He moved quietly towards the whine, remembering what the girl had told him about the horrible beast residing in the forest. In his mind it sounded more like a puppy than a wild animal, but he proceeded with caution. Thick growth made it difficult to move quietly and more than once Ike was whipped with a branch when he had tried to evade it and let go of it a little too early.

He was exhausted when he reached a small clearing, the treetops gave way for sunshine. In the middle of the clearing was an old tree stump and for a passing second he was certain that he had heard a flute being played somewhere. Behind the stump, cowering and whining was a large grey beast, probably a wolf. It hadn't heard him coming and kept whining in pain. Ike watched it for a moment in silence, pondering how to approach it as not to aggravate it.

He decided to approach it as quietly and slowly as possible. If it was caught in a trap, as the girl had told him the villagers had set in the forest, it was best not to aggravate it in any way. It would only make things worse if it tried to fight itself free. The way most traps were designed was that the more the prey struggled the worse they made it for themselves.

Ike approached the wolf as quietly as he could, walking towards its front so it would see him coming. That would give it the advantage of studying him and remaining calm rather than if he tried to approach it from the behind. The wolf was too preoccupied to notice him and he advanced steadily.

Crack!

He froze, he had stepped on a twig. The wolf looked up at him with glowing turquoise eyes. It ceased to whine and began to growl, arching its back in fear. It had a beautiful grey mane that made it look even bigger than it actually was, on its forehead was a symbol that made Ike suspect it wasn't an ordinary wolf. Just its sheer size was enough to suggest that. Still, frightening as it was, Ike was mesmerized by its raw feral beauty.

"Whoa, easy there," He said, trying to remain as calm as possible as the wolf revealed large white canines accompanied by a low, ominous growl. It tried to stand but its front leg was stuck in a bear trap and it whimpered when it couldn't properly use its leg.

"Calm down, I don't want to hurt you," Ike spoke softly, holding his hands where the wolf could see them. The wolf watched him with bewildered eyes but fell silent. "I want to help you."

Ike moved as if in slow motion towards the wolf. It felt like an eternity taking one step, then waiting for the wolf to calm down enough to stop showing its teeth, then taking another one and receive a growl. Ike had rescued animals from traps before, he knew it was of utmost importance to adjust his movement so that the beast allowed him to come closer. A swift approach might have felt like a good idea to release it from the trap and end the pain as quickly as possible, but it also alarmed the animal and with a wolf that size Ike wasn't willing to risk it. He wished to live to see another day.

He managed to get next to the wolf eventually and it sniffed his hand before allowing him to touch it. It breathed heavily, flashed its teeth at him but it was clearly calmer than before. Ike let his hand caress the thick grey mane as a sign of friendliness, he could feel how fast its heart was beating. The poor thing, he had no idea how long it had been there, fighting against the impossible on its own.

"I'm going to get you out of it now," He said softly while trailing his hands down the leg that was in the bear trap. It had been set wrong, thank goodness, and the damage to the wolf was minimal. There was blood and it was impossible to say for sure but Ike had seen the kind of damage bear traps could do, the wolf could still count itself among the lucky ones. "Just stay calm, it'll be over in a sec." He said reassuringly as the wolf snarled at him.

He swallowed nervously, knowing that if he let his anxiousness show the wolf would quickly pick up on it and attack him. He took a few deep breaths to calm down. If he failed and the trap shut completely the wolf would have no leg and bleed to death. He clenched his fists tightly to stop his hands from shaking. Then he muttered Ike you can do this and attempted to open the trap. It squeaked, moving one hundredth of an inch, but that was it. It was an old one, rusted at the hinges and very tight.

The wolf showed no more aggressive behavior. It had apparently realized that he was trying to help and although his first attempt had been a failure he still received a wet lick across the cheek from the beast. Then another, and another, endlessly. As if it was trying to apologize for growling and snarling earlier.

"Stop it, I need to concentrate." Ike scolded it as he pushed its head away from himself. It still looked at him but agreed to let him help unobstructed.

Concentrating all of his strength into it he pushed the blades apart, the old hinges screeched as it began to open. The wolf tugged at its leg and eventually it slid out of the trap, leaving nothing but blood on the rusty blades. Ike let go and the trap sprung shut with tremendous force. Both of them watched it accusingly, the wolf while licking its wound and Ike huffing out of exertion. Had it worked like that the first time the beast wouldn't have had a leg to walk on anymore.

It tried to rest some weight on the leg that was bleeding but to no avail. It cringed out of pain and limped to Ike, having changed from a ferocious wild beast into a domesticated dog. It didn't growl or flash its fangs at all, instead it licked Ike's fake's gratefully. It breathed heavily and crashed into his lap, exhausted. Ike tried to inspect the wound, the wolf drew its leg away.

"I'm trying to help. Stop that." Ike exhaled, grabbing the wounded limb again.

The wolf looked at him intensely with those turquoise piercing eyes but remained still, allowing him to inspect the wound. It wasn't deep, nothing that wouldn't heal. Ike removed his bandanna, it was the perfect width and length to tie a small gash. He cleansed the wound with water from his flagon and a small vertical wound came visible. He proceeded to wrap the bandanna around it, tight enough but not too tight, just like Mist had taught him.

"Good boy! Well done!" He said when he was done and the animal licked his hands, his face, all around. For a vicious beast it was rather friendly, its tail wagged like a neighborhood dog's. It attempted to lay weight on the wounded leg but it held none, still Ike could be sure that it would heal within a few days.

"The whole forest must be full of traps like these," he said as he got up. "You should go somewhere else. It's not safe here," he added as he threw the trap into a nearby bush. As he began to walk back to his horse he suddenly realized that he could've ended up in one of them just straying off the safe trail. It was necessary to stay alert until he got to his horse.

He trudged onwards, not noticing the wolf following him. He noticed a few traps on his way back, it had been lucky he hadn't stepped in them. They were well hidden with leaves but once he was looking for them he could spot them easily. He took a long stick and triggered all of them, most of them were old and rusty and failed to work but those that worked chopped a piece of his stick clean off and he wondered how anyone was capable of doing something like that to innocent animals.

His horse was where he had left it, it grazed peacefully but grew anxious when he emerged from the bushes. It neighed, threw its head at the sight of him, its eyes wide as could be. Ike quickly grabbed the reins to keep it from bolting off. He still needed it and walking all the way to the tournament wasn't an option, he'd be disqualified if he was late. He spoke to it with soothing words, caressed its neck and mane, perplexed by sudden reaction until he noticed the reflection of the beast he had just saved in its big brown eye. It had followed him all the way from the clearing, limping but doing its best. Ike tied the reins around a tree to keep his horse still and ignored its anxious neighs.

He stooped to the wolf's level, it licked his face and whimpered quietly as if it was accusing him of leaving it behind. He rubbed it beneath the ears and it closed its eyes in happiness.

"You can't come with me," Ike said, his fingers still embedded in the lush fur. "I have somewhere I have to be, you'll only slow me down."

It whimpered again, licked his face again. It was clear it was asking to be taken with him. Ike couldn't do that. It only had three good legs, if he was to wait for it limp behind him he would be late for the tournament and the dream of winning the money prize could be forgotten. It just wasn't possible.

"This isn't goodbye forever." Ike said, his heart breaking. It was such a beautiful, sentient being, it seemed to understand every word he spoke to it. He knew perfectly well wolves weren't capable of that. They were wild animals, they communicated with growls and barks, all it could pick up from him was the tone of his voice. Even so when it looked at him with those deep turquoise eyes he couldn't help but think that they had reached a mutual understanding.

He took the injured leg in his hands, the wolf flinched slightly but didn't pull it away. He trailed his finger over the bandanna, looking at the animal meaningfully. It returned his gaze. "Once your leg has healed, follow my scent and find me." He said, immediately feeling stupid for having said such an idiotic thing. A wolf was neither capable nor did it care enough to track him down.

But it was better to leave with a false sense of hope than to think of the possibility that the wolf was going to be hunted down and made into hats and jackets if it didn't move further away from habitation.

—-

Ike arrived at the mansion well before the start of the tournament. It was an old stone mansion with tall ceilings and marble floors, every wall was covered with beautiful woodwork. It was a magnificent building, once the abode of a lord or perhaps a lady or both, back in the day when the wealthy had not been afraid to show off their assets.

Only a few others had come before him and although having fretted taking part in such a social event Ike felt relieved he had so much space. The garden was very big, it opened through large stained-glass double doors in the dining hall and stretched all the way to a far away forest. Ike enjoyed the garden very much. He could easily disappear behind bushes when someone tried to befriend him, trail away from the sand paths to lose whoever wanted to exchange a few words with him. He hardly ever went to the dining hall to eat, merely grabbed a sandwich to go or a piece of cake and retreated to a bench somewhere in the garden to enjoy it in solitude. It was his way of coping, whenever someone tried to befriend him he disappeared. If someone was persistent he insulted them and they quickly learned to keep their distance. He was there for one purpose and one purpose only, to win the money prize. The smashers weren't any different from the mercenaries he had worked with. People just weren't any good.

Slowly the quiet halls began to fill with life as each day new contestants arrived. Warriors, princesses, kids, peculiar animals called pokémon, people from all walks of life. It made Ike anxious. He had been prepared for throng and tumult but having been accustomed to the peace and quiet of Crimean countryside he often sought out solitude. The garden, which he had previously been very fond of was buzzing with life. He was forced to migrate further away from the mansion in his search for peace and quiet.

One day he ventured into the forest at the end of the garden and to his surprise, well hidden from someone who came just for a stroll he found a small grove. It had probably been a hiding place initially too and he briefly wondered what the previous owner could've wanted to run away from. Eminent business, royal responsibilities or maybe they had met a lover there? Ike had never understood love. He knew of it and knew the concept but to think of himself as a flower-wielding, chocolate-carrying buffoon was just impossible.

He sat down on the old white iron bench, it too had been crafted with great care. White arcs stood on both sides of it, connected with a lattice a creeper had almost completely covered. Since none of the gardeners knew of the place no one had cut it in ages and long strings of leaves hang from the mesh. It seemed unreal, like something out of a fairytale. Ike took a deep, relaxed breath. Somewhere high above, in the treetops wind created whispers. Such peace was sublime, Ike felt like he had returned home.

His moment of happiness was quickly disturbed. He heard rustling, scrunching of leaves beneath a runner. He opened his eyes, perturbed by the thought of anyone venturing into the forest. Most of the smashers seemed like indoor-folk, they could take a stroll in the garden and enjoy it as much as the next person but hardly any of them cared to trek into actual wilderness. It had been a relief to Ike so far but as the footsteps drew ever closer he began to suspect his earlier assumption.

It was clear someone was coming for him. At times the footsteps slowed down or there was rustling of other kind, a jump or a complete halt, but all the same Ike was certain whoever it was was looking for him. He stood up, unable to understand why. He never socialized with anyone and he had made sure no one had followed him. The grove was hard to find with an unaccustomed eye, was someone else aware of its existence? Had someone found it before him?

The footsteps grew more rapid as they got even closer, Ike could hear every jump now being followed with a grunt. It was a male voice, but he was sure he hadn't heard it before. Thoughts ran through his head as those fervent steps came for him. Should he run? Should he hide? He hadn't brought his sword, should he defend himself? His heart beat faster as he anxiously waited to be found.

While he had frozen in thought a youth approximately his age if not a little younger tore his way through the creeping vine into the grove. He hadn't sought for the exit (of which there were two to choose from) but had come directly through the thickest foliage. Behind him Ike saw the terrain he had come through, it was enough to exhaust everyone. He stood absolutely still like an idiot staring at the youth panting in front of him.

He didn't seem as odd as the first impression was. True, he had come through thick forest like a bullet from the mansion to the grove instead of walking on a trail, it was no surprise he was out of breath. His cheeks glowed with a healthy rouge, his slightly slanted blues eyes studied Ike curiously. He had leaves and moss in his hair, having probably fallen over a time or two, Ike deduced as much from the burdocks and small sticks that had stuck in his green tunic. Basically he looked like a catalogue of forest flora and Ike would've found it funny had he not found the situation so very bizarre and frightening. After all, he had come straight for him, literally.

"There you are!" The youth said briskly, throwing the vines out of his hands and jumping into his arms. He wrapped his slender legs around Ike and snuggled close to him, giving him a friendly lick on the cheek.

Ike fought out of his hold and threw him on the ground. "Get away from me!" He commanded, alarmed, as he took a few hasty steps backwards while lifting his curled fists, ready to strike him down if he got too close again.

The youth got up and dusted himself off, seeming a little dumb-founded himself. "Don't you recognize me?" He asked with a smile, still holding his arms open as an invitation for a hug.

Ike gave him a second look; he had pointy-ears, his face was narrow and he was surprisingly pretty for a man, his build was slender but his muscles were well-taught. A ranger, perhaps? Or an elf, Ike found himself wondering. He tried to remember having met him but came to the conclusion that he had never ever seen him before. It only added to his bafflement that the other seemed to know him so very well and had even assumed that it was all right to come so close to him. Whoever the youth thought he was he was obviously mistaken.

"Look, you have the wrong person," Ike explained in a calm manner, lowering his fists. "I'm not the one you're looking for."

"Yes you are." The other replied instantly. Then he pulled out a dirty old bandanna from his pocket and handed it to Ike, smiling at him meaningfully.

"You told me to follow your scent."