"Peacetime is not befitting of a hero."
Link fell.
He didn't know how long he had been falling or where he had fallen from.
Lights shone around him, illuminating the darkness. It looked like a sky full of stars.
Pain flared in his body as the dark tried to consume him.
The Triforce on his hand glowed brightly, illuminating the void.
Patterns swirled and everything faded to black.
Link felt his body again.
He slowly opened his eyes. Blurry shapes met his vision, so he blinked and tried to focus again. Broken ruins swam into view, stone that looked like a creamy white sandstone crumbled with age. Vines overgrew everything and the depression around the altar held a pond, birds fluttering around to drink.
It was clearly the same temple he had taken his sleep in.
A sleep that should have been permanent.
So why had he woken up?
Link pushed it from his head. The Goddesses had their reasons.
Link tried to push himself up. He had felt funny ever since he woke, like his limbs were twisted the wrong way. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, only to see grey and black fur. Pawed feet and a tail as well.
A Wolf?
Link remembered that in his previous life as the Hero of Twilight, he had been turned into a wolf.
But remembering it and feeling it were two very very different things.
He flexed and tested everything in his new body. Powerful legs built for running flexed, his tail flicked as he scrambled to get to his feet on unfamiliar muscles. The green of the vines and the brilliant plumage of the birds was dulled in his vision, but he could see every shape in sharp detail. His smell though. He could smell everything around him, the birds and the climate they had migrated from. The trees around the temple. The freshness of the water that flowed through the broken temple. The wind even carried scents of feces, cooking meat and sweat.
The smell of humans.
Link stretched out his body and jumped into a trot.
The sooner he figured out where he was, the sooner he could know what was going on, and how to get his body back.
Not that the wolf form was bad. Link was enjoying himself, reveling in the power and majesty of the wolf's form.
As he plodded through the half broken temple entrance, stone gave way to an overgrowth.
As he walked, trees flowed together, forming a densely packed forest. The shadows and dim light that flickered through from above was very atmospheric. The vines weaved in and out from the trees, snaring his foot...paw every now on then.
"Where you going handsome?" One of the birds, a yellow coloured one jeered at him from overhead.
"Cut it out." Another one, an azure blue bird scolded.
They kind of looked like baby loftwings that the Hero of Sky had been around all his life.
One of the funny things about being reincarnated over and over, is that lots of strange little things gave him pangs of nostalgia. Like right now, he missed his trusty Loftwing. And Epona.
"Come on, he can't reach us from here, let me have my fun before we go back to mama."
"No, Auralia just listen…" Blue interjected
"Come on sis, pleeeeease." The Gold one begged.
"I think it can understand us."
"What!? No way."
Link gave the birds a full toth smile as nodded, and calmly continued on his way.
When link was far enough away he heard the birds chirp to each other again, sounding a little uneasy and uncertain.
"Did that just happen?"
"y...yeah. How'd you know?"
"His ears were flicking."
"No way"
Link snorted as he wove through the forest.
Link sat in a tree, looking down upon the town in the distance. It had taken him hours to get this far, and dusk quickly approached. The town wasn't very big, but it was bustling nevertheless. He didn't want to go down there and attract unwanted attention. The hero of Twilight had done that at Castle town one time. Rather amusing, but very inconvenient.
The townspeople were dressed colourfully and uniquely, interesting fashion everywhere you looked. A lot of the clothing held a cross pattern with the ends splaying into fading points.
The most interesting thing though.
A man with light grey hair with glasses and a ponytail had placed a fist into his open hand, and the light of energy burned. Once it cleared, there stood a large stone statue of a very buff man in a muscle exhibiting pose.
Instant creation of an object.
Magic.
The petite man beside him smirked. This one had short brown hair as he raised his hand, flames erupting from his palm. The flame went soaring up into the sky until it erupted into a sparkling blaze, like expensive fireworks.
Laughter that sounded like a bell chime rang out from the man, distinctly feminine. The fire mage was actually a woman. Her open vest revealed her cleavage and the bikini top covering it. The glitter of her fire sparkled all around her as the sparks and ashes gently floated to the ground.
Fire Manipulation.
Magic? How?
Link tried to move closer, jumping off his tree and trotting over to the couple. He made sure to keep hidden in the grass as he listened to their bickering.
He couldn't make out anything. They were speaking in a different language. He caught snippets and fractions of words, but it just got jumbled and lost.
"A hifk eill qul et 'Flame Burst'. Et hnnd ut viel." The woman spoke flippantly.
The man Laughed at that. "eu ont aor 'Old Toung.' Aou wuuv et oo uch." It sounded like an accusation.
The two seemed to be stretching and winding down. Sure enough, they started making their way into one of the nearby house, the stone statue still standing tall.
Link pondered what he saw.
A woman using a term he could understand and the man saying something about 'old tongue.' Coupled with the Temple he was in had been standing when he went to sleep, only to wake up to find it in ruins; It confirmed his theory.
He had jumped into the future. Again, if you count past lives.
Old tongue was Hylian. I wonder how the Hyrulian language survived after the Kingdom itself was destroyed.
He shook his wolfy head. He didn't want to think about what happened in this life. He would have been quite content to die in that temple.
All he had and known was gone. This time, it looked like it was for good. No master sword, no sacred realm, no timeshift stones, no Idea where the temple of time is or if it is even standing.
But he was alive. If courage was acting despite fear, then he would keep living, and find something new to live for.
Even if this world made him a little uneasy. Magic, and evidence of it's use was everywhere and on everything. He could smell it in the air, both the raw power and the residual energy of many many wizards, not just the two he saw.
He was not used to the fizzling in his veins.
He shook his head, as if trying to clear out his unproductive train of thought.
One of Zelda's many teachings echoed in his mind. 'If you want to do something, make a plan. Then plan on how to achieve it.'
Alright. so what should I do?
On cue, he felt the mild pangs of hunger strum his stomach.
Step one, eat. Step two, get a map and find my bearings. Step three, try and find more information about magic. Step four, improvise from there.
Link lingered for another minute, watching the peaceful village. Smoke rising from the chimneys, the mild and quiet babble of people talking, the smell of food. Peaceful. Full of Happiness.
He forgot how much he missed it.
He turned and made his way back through the forest, his eyes peeled for the movement of small rabbits or chickens.
It had taken three tries on three different animals. The First one was a deceptively high jumping rabbit who sprang away at an astonishing speed once he awkwardly pounced. His second prey was intelligent and started begging for it's life in the animal's language once he had it trapped under his paw. He had apologised to the hunched four legged creature, and let it go. The third attempt was a success, a round looking chicken with small wings. It had tried to blow a gust of wind out of its open beak, but it had missed, so link gave a silent apology to his victim before he bit down on the top of the beast's head.
Through the whole experience of hunting and now eating, he had let his wolf instincts guide him. It did feel unusual, even though he had eaten meat before. It was a humbling experience to appreciate where his food came from.
The creature's blood was rather sweet on his tongue as he tore into it as neatly as he could.
His mind wandered to his other objectives.
If he could find a library he may be able to find and learn this new language, and even better if he found someone who could read Hylian.
He would still need a map of where he was, and maybe a compass so he could tell his bearings easily during the day.
I don't want to, but it looks like i'll have to steal it.
The scent of smoke reached his nose.
He jerked up from his dinner.
Sniff sniff.
Smoke coming from the village.
The dark smell of burning homes and blood oozed over the wind.
Link swallowed his mouthful and bolted back to the direction of the village.
His legs carried him swiftly over the natural obstacle littered ground.
Screams and shouts echoed and the crackling of fire sounded.
He burst through the treeline and saw the village again. Dirty men were everywhere. Homes were on fire, townspeople were running or fighting off invaders.
There was nothing else Link needed to see.
He raced down the hill, anger rising at these men who would attack innocents.
There was a crowd of bandits in what looked like the town square.
In the center was the two mages he had seen, standing back to back, cold fury on the man's face and burning anger from the woman. They fought expertly, rock spike walls, barriers and obstacles like pillars formed out of thin air. Fire relentlessly poured out of the woman's hands as she threw them with reckless abandon.
They look like they can hold out. They probably don't need my help.
Link started sniffing the air as he ran, weaving between the houses. His ears twitching back and forth listening for sounds.
A little girl skidded around the corner of the alleyway he was racing through.
Her eyes met his and the look on her face said she thought she was going to die.
A man ran after her, his hand reached out to grab the girl.
Link spead up and pounced, leaping straight over the little girl who's eyes went wide.
His mouth wide open, his teeth slammed into the bandit's neck.
The Filthy man cried out in surprise and horror as Link Crunched down.
The former bandit collapsed to the ground.
He checked to see if the girl was unharmed.
She looked back at him, amazed, but still wary and fearful.
Link just winked to comfort her and walked over to her.
She took a step back, but he followed. He buffeted her shoulder to get her to turn, grabbed the back of her shirt in his teeth, lifted her up and carried her like a mother wolf held her pup by the scruff.
She was squealing something, but stopped as he broke into a swift canter.
He was going too slow, he used his willpower to try and force more speed.
Something rose in his chest, the fizzling feeling was moving inside him. The scenery blurred by faster, and was past the treeline on top of the hill in no time.
He set the girl down inside a gap between a massive fallen log and a large bush before spinning around and blazing into town again.
Was magic this easy? And why was there so much magic in this time?
I'll think about it later.
He blazed through the streets, looking for more people to ferry out of town.
A muffled cry escaped an alleyway he had just passed, so he skidded to a halt, turned around and charged down it.
A man was on top of a woman he had bent over a dumpster, his hand clamped over her mouth.
'Where there is Blood, war and conquest, you will find rape, theft and slavery not too far behind it.'
The words of an old soldier he had fought with echoed in his mind.
Link sped up as he charged down the alleyway, leaping onto the wall in front of the man, and pushing off it to slam into the man, sinking his teeth into his shoulder.
He fell backwards with a cry.
Link landed at his feet.
Man's rage and wolf's bloodlust seared together as he opened his mouth, baring his teeth and lowering it to the man's crotch.
The man's eyes widened in horror as his eyes met the glowing orbs of the wolf.
Link bit down hard.
The man howled in pain.
The wolf drew back and surveyed the woman. She was paralyzed, just standing there. Tears streamed down her face.
He pushed her with his head, trying to herd her out of the alleyway, and away from the howling man.
She just fell to her knees.
Link huffed as he grabbed the front of her dress in his teeth and pulled her over his back.
She was heavier than the child, but it was lucky she was so short. Link carefully cantered out if the alley, making his way towards the forest hiding spot.
The magic still crackled in his veins, making the trip surprisingly short.
So does magic react just to willpower or intent? Do certain actions set it off too? Or do they just help?
He dropped the woman in the hiding space and saw the little girl looking at him bewildered.
Link turned around and ran to make another trip.
The slumped forms of the Bandits, either dead or out cold were everywhere. Rubble and burn marks were everywhere else.
One of the burning houses link was running past suddenly extinguished.
He looked up to see the flame woman, jet bursts of fire blasting out of the bottom of her feet and keeping her in the air. The house fire was sailing into her hands in thick ribbons, then another, then another, then she skipped a house.
As she continued to suck up fire, Link noticed the pattern. She was only targeting homes with smaller or less fire.
Link sped through the closest building that was still on fire.
He checked every room he could get in without being lit himself.
Sorrow rose and his gut twisted as he saw an unmoving figure on the floor of an inferno ridden room. He could smell from here, they were dead.
Next room. Keep moving.
Grunts of pained efforts came from the next room, and he rushed in.
A middle aged woman and a young boy were trying to move a pillar off a tiny little girl.
The Woman cried out in shock when he bounded in, but Link ignored her and moved around to push the slab of wood.
He growled with effort as he pushed as hard as he could.
The woman got over her shock and panic and started pushing too.
It inched backwards painfully slowly, the flames licking them and heat pressing against them as they pushed.
The girl was pulling herself forwards, and as soon as the pillar was far enough away she popped straight out.
The mother immediately scooped her up in a massive hug.
Link just saw the fire blazing in the doorway, so he started pushing the family towards the window.
The little boy climbed out first, and the mother followed.
As he jumped out the window himself he heard a child's scream.
He cast around to see another building that the fire mage couldn't put out.
A group of children and a woman in a religious robe were standing in front of the building. They were waving frantically to a boy in the top window of the two story house.
The boy looked paralyzed.
Link jumped on top of a wooden crate, then onto a window flower box to reach the second floor. He tumbled through the window and onto the floor.
The boy screamed, but Link just got to his feet, grabbed the front of the boy's shirt and held him out the window.
When he saw the woman got the idea and moved below him with her arms out, he let go.
The boy screamed all the way down into the safety of the woman's arms.
The family from the burning house had merged with this group and the two grown women were exchanging exclamations and rushed words.
Link Lept out the window and collapsed to the ground, panting.
He was quickly getting tired. The effects of the magic maybe?
One of the children was holding out a canteen of water for him.
How nice of him. Link opened his mouth and tilted his head back.
The kid got the idea and poured the water down his gullet. Link sighed as he tried to catch his breath. The child said something to him as he slowly got to his feet
"Vfak Ou Meizr Voilf." It sounded like thanks.
He gently butted the child's shoulder with his head, then turned towards the rest of the group.
Link wuffed to get their attention, and he jerked his head in the direction of his hiding hole and started padding off in that direction.
A glance behind him showed some of the children were following, and the adults and rest of the children were looking a bit reluctant, but started following too.
They continued through town, Link keeping his wolf senses peeled for any danger.
He bit out two bandits he had run into on the way, and left them rolling on the ground in pain behind him. Just when they were on the edge of town he heard a beastly roar of pain echo through the streets.
A few moments later came a Voice, raised in a furious cry.
"Om Aan ou Razads! A vul Ruun ou ul! 'FLAME BURST!'"
It was the flame woman's voice. He could hear things in her voice that he couldn't as a human, a tremble of fear and desperation mixed in the rage.
They are in trouble, but I can't leave the group.
'Think outside the box, don't try and do everything yourself.' Another quote from Zelda passed by his mind.
Who Else do I have? ….oh. Idea.
Link willed his speed as he broke into a full run.
His veins tingled as greenery rushed by him.
He saw the woman and the little girl in the hiding spot stare at him.
No time or way to explain. Link walked over to the smaller girl and grabbed the back of her shirt, and started speeding back to the group. He appeared beside the group, and deposited the girl.
He butted the girl, and jerked his head towards the hiding spot.
She looked confused as she pointed to herself, then the group, and then the direction of the hiding spot.
It looked like she got the idea. Link nodded.
The girl pointed to him.
To answer her question, he turned and spead towards where he heard the fire woman.
No...
He had reached the square, the man slumped behind the woman with blood oozing from his head.
The woman was on her knees, panting heavily as she lashed out with a whip made of fire.
One of the bandits went sprawling away, but there were still four more bandits around her.
Another bandits lifted her hands and a beam of energy shot out.
Flame woman pivoted left to avoid it, but ended up falling to the ground.
Link sped up as another bandit raised a spiked club over his head.
He snarled his rage as he barreled into the Club bandit's stomach as hard and fast as he could.
As the man collapsed, he used his element of surprise and went straight for the Mage's neck.
Water crashed against him and sent him tumbling, landing next to flame woman as he rolled and jumped up onto his paws.
More magic users?
He glanced at the flame woman who had gotten back on her feet too.
"Eu Van oo Alp? Rine ay ee." She closed her eyes and a flame appeared in her hands. A brilliant Silver coloured flame with green streaks woven through it. "'HEART ON FIRE!'" She yelled.
The fire engulfed her body and spread to her partner and Link.
The silver fire crackled through his body, the buzz of power he felt in his veins blazed.
His heart was filled with every confidence, his tiredness seeming like a thing of the past, his mind cleared and sharpened.
So this is the feeling of real magic. It was amazing.
The same energy burned in the two mages, because the stone man got up and gave a bear like roar.
The woman's warcry was harsh and sharp like a bird-like she was a human incarnation of a phoenix.
Link could feel why they did it. There was so much power in his body, he couldn't not react to it.
He raised his muzzle to the sky and let out a powerful howl with the force of a roar.
The power flowed forth from his veins and filled his skin.
A light shone around him and his fur turned gold and white. The triforce glowed on the back of his paw.
All three of them immediately attacked.
"Death Burn!" She opened her mouth and black flames spewed out.
The man yelled as he punched his fist into his open and waiting palm, light spewing from the meet and a giant stone block appearing in the air.
Link, not knowing what form his magic would take just charged at the nearest enemy.
The water mage waved his hand and liquid spewed toward the black fire, only for it to hiss and evaporate into steam.
The bandit woman shot energy up at the rock in the sky, which cracked and shattered. It revealed a shower of small rocks falling behind it.
A cloud of darkness billowed from another bandit Mage's hands, writhing around trying to catch him and twist itself around Link's neck. But as Link continued his charge, the dark evaporated as soon as it touched him.
The bandits exclaimed something or just looked shocked.
Black flames smacked the water mage in the face and sent her sprawling.
The rocks crashed into the woman, leaving her on the ground groaning and out cold.
Link lept at the darkness mage and his head slammed into his chest, sending him to the ground.
All three of them turned to the last Bandit mage remaining.
She wore a hood and a cloak. She reeked of cold and animalistic anger.
Long white hair and piercing green eyes were revealed when she dropped her hood. A savage grin played on her face. Waves of power stirred the air around her. The cloak opened to reveal a furred winter coat and knee high boots. She looked like any normal citizen, maybe even a model with her looks. But here she was, stealing and killing for fun.
The fire woman was standing the closest to the Ice woman, and the contrast was stark.
Long white hair to short brown hair. Ladylike and demure posture to rough and combat ready stance. Conservative but elegant dress to a simple vest over a bikini top and tracksuit pants.
Ice crystals forming on the grass under the Bandit Queen's feet.
Blades of grass charring and the ground blackening from the blaze surrounding the other woman.
The flame woman was letting her own magic loose to match their opponent.
It was getting harder to breath, the air was so thick with power.
The ice woman grasped a round pendant as she spoke in an unfamiliar language. What the townspeople and Mages spoke sounded like very broken Hylian, with only fragments of words that he recognised. Which were then cobbled together with other word fragments or completely new sounds.
But what the woman spoke sounded rough and coarse. Yet Link could understand what she said, and a quick glance to his right told him that the other mages understood too.
"Well done guild mages. Your efforts in defeating my underlings are commendable. But your Luck just ran out. You are facing the Woman who will rule the Fioran Underworld."
The pendant. Her words were indecipherable, but the pendant was somehow sending vibrations and he could hear what she was saying.
The flame woman had something to say about that, with great speed, scorn and disrespect.
The Ice Queen gave a thin smile that conveyed no positive emotions.
"I do not think you know whom you are facing." She spread out her arms in the air, her smile turning into a smirking grin of full insanity before continuing.
"I am known as Blizzard! The Winter Dragon slayer! With the dragon Lacrima implanted inside me when I was a child, along with my Natural Ice magic, I have a power beyond that of a dragon! You think you can stand before me? Come! Fall at my feet!"
The fire woman disappeared and barely a second later she reappeared, her fist in the Ice woman's face.
"Bring It Bitch!" Fire woman cawed, the pendant morphing her words so Link could understand them.
Blizzard stumbled back, blinking rapidly and shock showing in her face.
"You brash little whore!" She screamed back as Ice crystals erupted all around her.
The Fire woman got out of the way and jeered, her speech muddled again.
Blizzard answered with a smirk. "Well, you may be an insufferable and rude little pest, but you will at least be a challenge. Come then Miss Estata Flame!"
The Fire woman- Estata, took in a lungfull of air, and Blizzard quickly followed suit.
" 'Burn Breath!' "
"WINTER DRAGON'S ROAR!"
Fire flowed out of Estata's mouth, while a gale of Ice shards and snow flowed from Blizzard's.
The two forces crashed together, clearing ground around the impact.
Both sides flickered and shifted, as if the combatants were trying to shift their own attack past the deadlock without their opponent's beam passing. Blizzard's attack was pressing the deadlock forward, towards the Fire wielder.
Estata stopped her own flow of fire and jumped in the air, letting the cold torrent crash under her, and smash into a building.
Her hands blazed with fireballs and she threw them at a shocking pace.
Ice spikes formed around Blizzard to form a wall and catch the fire bolts.
Her partner was on his knees, but magic still shone from his hands as he smacked his fist into his hand again. Stone pillars shot out of the ground so Estata could land on one and use the height advantage on her stronger opponent. He smacked his hand again and what looked like bear statues formed and started charging at Blizzard.
She just laughed in response. "Maker magic? Two can play that game. Ice Make: Dragon!"
A serpent like dragon sculpture made of Ice formed in the air and twisted around, knocking down pillars and fighting against the stone bears.
The ice woman wasn't even exerting herself, looking like she was going out on a stroll, not fighting with immensely powerful magic that could easily destroy the town if released.
However the moving statue constructs and the battling mages were equally matched.
What can I do against such a titan?
Link saw a ruffle on the back of the ice dragon's neck as it swooped on the stone bears once again.
What I always do.
He turned and used half destroyed houses and rubble to climb up so he could leap around on the top of the pillars.
By now Estata and Blizzard were barely a pace apart, throwing blows loaded with fire and ice magic. Fists and bolts flew around them.
Link could only wait, watching near miss after near miss for Estata, frozen fists barely gliding by her.
The Ice dragon was exactly under him. Perfect.
He leapt down on it and landed squarely on it's neck
Link crunched the dragon's icy neck with his fangs. The cold bit back into his teeth, and chilled his mouth.
The dragon roared in pain, sounding like steel dragging over ice. It fell, and crashed to the ground where it's wings shattered.
Blizzard was looking over at her shattered creation in shock, and got a flaming fist in her face for the distraction.
"You damn filthy peasants!" She screamed venomously. "Dragon Slayer secret art: Winter Dragon's Death Blizzard!"
Winds filled with snow burst around her figure and expanded. Ice fragments whirled around the freezing flurry, some icicles as long as swords. The paving stones they were standing on were getting chewed up by the gale, the cyclone slowly chewing up more and more of it's surroundings.
I don't have the right tools to deal with this, I don't have the skills or the knowledge.
What do I do to defeat this monster?
Estata was entirely on fire, an inferno blazed in her hands as she held back the expansion of Blizzard's attack. She had a strained look on her face, and desperation showed on her features. Her partner was on his knees exhausted, all his strength and the borrowed strength from Estata's magic gone. Link was starting to get tired too.
Link's attention shifted back to the flame woman.
Estata, she could be the key to victory. So how do I help her?
There was no way past the sphere that was the snowstorm, no way to damage Blizzard directly. Small projectiles would get caught in the hurricane, and he couldn't lift or throw anything heavy enough that would make it through.
Link looked around more desperately himself. The rock man was out cold now that he looked again, somehow still propped up on one knee. There was nothing over Blizzard to drop on her, no steep elevations he could push something down.
Attack is out of the question.
Supporting Estata? I could bring her fire, but I don't know how her magic works. Can she use fire in the environment? Can she even control it while she was defending that attack?
Link shut his eyes. There was no such thing as a battle that couldn't be won, no challenge that couldn't be overcome. So what could he do?
He heard a wolf howl in the distance, a call to brothers.
It stirred up a memory.
There was power in songs. In his past lives he had played his songs to travel, create storms, manipulate time, or even put souls to rest.
There was power in what he knew. And from what he did know- Magic worked with intention and willpower. So he could use it.
The Bolero of Fire.
I hope this works.
Link lifted his muzzle to the heavens, feeling the flow of his magic as he willed it forth.
His voice warbled as he howled, the tune echoing over the crashing snowstorm.
A red aura surrounded him as he finished howling the main tune and continued the song he and Sheik had played together in death mountain crater in another life.
Estata looked shocked as the red aura appeared around her too. The dwindling fire in her hands roared to life.
She started pushing back the snowstorm sphere, making it shrink back towards it's caster.
Again she screeched her warcry, wings of fire erupting behind her as her hands glowed of white hot plasma that started cutting through the barrier.
Somehow link was exhausted, the golden glow fading from his form. The red aura still clung to his dark black and grey fur as he slowly got up from his sitting position and found a place he could jump Blizzard when her spell broke.
With one last phoenix cry, Estata pushed and Blizzard's spell shattered.
The woman was standing there, her eyes wide in shock as flame washed over her.
A deadly look filled her eyes and Icicles burst out of her hands that she swung like short swords.
Link grabbed one of her wrists and used his weight and momentum to swing her around.
The ice witch lost her balance and fell over, her other hand still fighting. She swung her Sharp icicle and tried to slice him with the tip, but he shifted and jumped. It pulled her with him and making her lose what balance she had left.
Estata's hand blazed one last time and she smashed it into the other woman's face. She flopped on the ground, unconscious. The pendant on her neck went flying, snapping off it's cord. It was near enough to him so Link picked it up in his mouth. He saw a crack in it as he lifted it though. He hoped it still worked. It would be nice to be able to hear what people said.
He slowly loped over to Estata and Blizzard to check them both.
A quick sniff told him that Blizzard was not bleeding. Good enough.
Estata however was bleeding, and he already knew the stone mage was hurt as well.
He gave a quiet whine at her to get her attention.
She looked down at him and gave a smile. "I'm alive pup. that's enough for me. I definitely owe you one." She leaned down pat his head, or rather ruffle his ears like she was a ruffling human's hair.
Link couldn't help but smile his very wolfy and toothy smile. He liked her. She was a very genuine and quirky person.
But they had other problems. When he shifted his attention to the stone mage, so did she.
"Hammel!" She cried as she rushed over to him. There was already a woman kneeling by his side, her brown hair an elegant mes.
She had kind and soft features, her brown eyes confident and sure. Her cloths, despite being mundane and mud splattered had an element of high class.
"He's fine. He will need a long rest." The woman's voice was strong, but soft and musical.
"Thank you miss. He needs a lot of looking after. He's so high maintenance and melodramatic." Despite the jabs she took at her partner he could hear the relief and happiness in her voice and tone.
"Too bad for you Summer Phoenix." He opened one of his eyes to wheeze.
"Can you stop calling me that already? I'm nothing special."
His chuckle turned into a chesty cough before he spoke. "Girl, I always knew you'd be going places. And You just took down a Dragon Slayer."
"I had help." She muttered back, glancing away.
"Speaking of that…" He turned his head to look at Link.
"Nice job Mister wolf. We owe you a few steaks."
"He's smarter than he looks." The brown haired woman told them. "I saw him ferrying children and villagers out of town."
"Well. Aren't you the uncommon hero?" Estata laughed in good humor. She abruptly stopped laughing when link nodded at her.
"You can understand me." She stated weakly. "That's….."
There was a long pause.
"You can understand us?" The Brunette asked him.
"Like, you can hear us and know what we are saying?" Hammel cut in.
Link nodded, then noticed Estata wasn't questioning it. She accepted the fact it had happened almost instantly. She had paused to wrap her head around the event and change her perspective; there was no doubt or disbelief on her face. She truly was an exceptional person.
"So, what is your name?" She asked.
Link let the talisman out of his mouth and tried to wuff his name, but she couldn't understand it. He could tell by her frown. He still had his paw on the translation talisman too.
"So you can't speak to us then. How about I give you a name then?"
Wolves don't shrug very well, but he somehow managed it.
"Don't mind? Hmmm. How about…..Hero."
Ironic. For him to be called a hero again, even if it was a temporary name. But he supposed he was a Hero once more after today's actions. And with any luck, he would have many more opportunities. And this time, he would not fail.
Link nodded firmly.
"You always were good with naming things Es." Hammel rumbled.
The other woman seemed to have gotten over her surprise too. "A name and a title, befitting a noble soul."
Estata nodded thoughtfully.
Link's ears picked up a tiny voice.
A sinister whisper on the wind.
"P...p….Permafrost Needlesssss"
He swung around to see a spread of icy needles form.
The ice witch was stuck on the floor, but gave a crazy grin before making the needles fly.
Estata and Hammel were in the wrong position to see them. The brunette woman's eyes had widened and mouth open to cry out, but the spikes were already halfway to their target.
Link did the only thing he could do in time to protect all three of them.
He jumped in front of the line of needles.
Cold and hot pain lanced into his body, searing his flesh.
A howl of pain escaped his muzzle as he collapsed to the ground.
Estata gave the sound of metal scraping metal in rage as an inferno burst forth and boomed towards the ice woman.
Link's vision flickered, the fire was melting the projectiles, causing ice cold water to drip into his wounds. The pain was overwhelming his other senses every single drip.
Well, it would be disappointing to die when there could have been so much more to learn and discover. There is something to live for this time.
His mind succumbed to black with one final thought.
I hope I wake up, there are adventures to have.
Dark shapes flickered in his vision.
There were funny smells everywhere.
He could hear a conversation.
"Honey, be careful with Hero. He's hurt, so try and care for him. Ok sweetheart?"
"Ok mom!"
He flicked his ears to try and hear what the woman was humming.
An unfamiliar weight rested on his chest, and he opened one eye to check what it was. The translation Talisman on a slender thread.
Big brown eyes filled his vision, a child with short brown hair looked at him in wonder.
"Momie! He woke up!"
"Thank you dear. Now, how do you feel?" She asked Link.
He shook his head in response, and looked around.
"You are in my home. Most of the townsfolk wouldn't help take in a wolf and nurse him back to health, so I did."
She shook her head.
"You saved our lives. When you got injured the Phoenix lady got very angry and turned the Bandit woman black and blue. Speaking of her, the Phoenix and the Bear would like to thank you themselves."
Link tried to get to his feet, but the pain shot through him.
"Don't try and get up yet. Don't worry. You'll make a speedy recovery. You are free to stay here for as long as you need."
She smiled radiantly at him.
"It's the least I can do for our Hero, right?"
Link snorted and smiled back as he settled back down into the covers.
"Oh, I didn't introduce myself."
She drew herself up, the straw sunhat she was wearing over her long dark chestnut hair was tilted back. She had picked up her daughter in her arms, and she was giggling as she watched.
"My name is Cornelia, and this is my daughter, Cana. Welcome to our home, Hero."