In hindsight he really should've thrown Wild into the river to retrieve his bedroll, it would've saved him a lot of trouble down the road. Instead he stood glaring at his protégé of sorts as he fumbled through an explanation of what happened and why only his bedroll was currently making the floating down stream. Something about a white bokoblin sneaking up on him, and the monster ending up close to the river. Apparently, the bedroll was just heavy enough to knock the nuisance into the water, ending its existence and sending Twilight's bedroll on a one-way trip down river.
He guessed he should be thankful that Wild only chose his bedroll to use as a weapon while Twilight and Sky had been out hunting. At the moment though he was feeling anything but grateful. As it was, the nearest villages that might be able to supply him with a new one were over a day's travel away. The group had been heading to Hateno Village, and though Kakariko was closer, it was decided that they would continue to Hateno. After all Legend reasoned, there was a stable along the way and surely Twilight could borrow the bedroll of whomever was on watch if they didn't make it to Hateno by the next night. It took everything in him not to growl at the experienced hero like the wolf in him was urging.
Things were only made slightly better when they reached the stable giving Twilight the opportunity to pet all the animals, especially the cuddly the new puppies one of the dogs had recently had. Reasoning that they were looking for information on either the shadow that had brought them together or any strange occurrences in the area Twilight slipped off to change forms. Animals did tend to be a good source of information after all. So it was a half hour or so later that Wild, Four, and Hyrule found 'Wolfie' romping around with a bunch of puppies who kept tripping over their too big paws.
Barely stifling his laughter Wild spoke to the Wolf who was completely covered in a mound of yipping puppies. "Hey Wolfie, I need to go gather some honey and a few herbs for dinner tonight. Would you mind coming with us to help sniff out the ingredients we need? We'd like to get back before dark."
Huffing slightly, Twilight removed himself from the pack of puppies making sure to nuzzle each of them in turn before following the others to the woods nearby. The walk there was marred only by a slight biting itch along his back and chest that he didn't think much of, sometimes the heat made his fur incredibly scratchy.
Wild and the others had stopped in a clearer part of the forest so Wild could show them how he shot three arrows at once. While Twilight was curious about that too, Wolfie wouldn't be as likely to care. Sighing internally he began following his nose for the herbs. Wild had long since had him memorize the smell of his favorites allowing Twilight to easily begin hunting down what was needed. Of course it just wasn't his day though.
He'd managed to track down the herb Wild needed, having to stop to scratch and bite at his back several times, carefully piling them near the trail as he found them. Unfortunately, along with the herbs he also managed to find a pair of bokoblins hunting a boar. It was strange seeing monsters performing such a menial task as trying to get food, but then again Wild's Hyrule was just strange to begin with and Twilight had witnessed them cooking on his own adventure. Noting they were the red variety, which Wild said were the weakest, Twilight decided to take them out himself. True he hated fighting in this form, the taste took days to get out of his mouth, but it couldn't be helped considering Hyrule was nearby and travelers could walk by at any moment.
It was an easy battle, the pair hadn't even been strengthened by the dark magic that they'd noted lately. The first one never even saw him coming, which made snapping its neck all too easy. The moment he felt the creatures life leave it Twilight pushed off the monster towards its companion. It seemed this bokoblin was at least ready for him as it jumped out of the way at the last moment causing Twilight to skid land into a pile of fresh droppings left behind by the scared boar.
Twilight swore the remaining bokoblin was laughing at him even as he lunged for the creature's throat. In seconds it too was dead, though now Twilight also had their blood in his fur along with the boar remains. Disgusted he was about to sniff around for some water to wash it out of his fur rather than having to was his clothing and armor. Before he can so much as lift his nose though there's an all too familiar whistling sound, followed by a thwonk, and an all too familiar angry buzzing sound. At almost the same moment Twilight feels something heavy and…sticky strike him in the head while also receiving many painful stings along his entire body.
He can't help the pathetic yelp that escapes his mouth as he bounds around trying to simultaneously drive away the bees and get the golden goop out of his eyes. A familiar concerned voice manages to make it to his ears amongst his pained yips and growls.
"Oh my goddesses, Wolfie! Wild look what you did to poor Wolfie!" Soon enough Hyrule, Four, and Wild are helping to drive away the stinging insects tormenting the wolf hero.
Once the relative calm settled over the four of them Twilight was able to assess the damages. He had boar droppings smeared on his chest and belly, sticky honey oozing slowly down his head and neck, bokoblin remains smattered here and there, burning stings all over, and a biting itch that had been slowly spreading since they left the stable. To top it all off the smell of the herbs was mixing with the droppings, honey, and remains creating a nauseatingly choking smell. All in all he was absolutely miserable.
"Wol…ack" Four tried to say something but a gasping cough due to the smell stopped him before he could get the first word out. "Oh goddesses," Wild said pinching his nose and turning his head. "Let's get you back to the stable there's a pond you can wash or we might need the river so we don't kill everything in the pond."
Hyrule, imitating Wild and holding his nose, looked at the long haired hero curiously. "Don't you mean you'll wash him? I mean it's not like he can wash himself."
"Um well he…you see he's really um inde…uh doesn't really like…" Wild trailed off apparently at a loss for words while Twilight glared at him. If Wild or any of the others so much as thought about giving him a bath Twilight would make sure their next thought would be to regret that. Giving the three of them one last cold glare he motioned them to follow as he led them to a pile of the herbs he collected.
Once those and a few pieces of honey comb that hadn't landed on Twilight were gathered up they started back to the Stable. The wolf hero was determined that the moment they got within sight of the stable he was going to have Wild or Time grab his bag and then he'd find a nice secluded part of the river that wasn't moving too swiftly to clean up. Hopefully he'd be able to rinse most of it out of his fur before he shifted back so he wouldn't have to scrub his clothes for hours on end. He just hoped he had enough soap to rid himself of the awful stench emanating from him. Sadly though, things just weren't going in his favor that day.
The itching had only become worse as they walked and it took everything Twilight had not to scratch, roll, and whatever else it took to stop the tormenting feeling. He was well aware if he did he would only push the filth farther into his fur. Not to mention with the copious amount of honey on him there was an all too real chance of his paw or claws getting stuck. Goddesses he was going to make Wild pay for this.
The trek seemed to be twice as long but at last they neared the stable. Twilight had to stop himself from bounding ahead in search of his bag, he was sure the owners wouldn't let him in smelling and looking the way he did. Unfortunately now that they were closer they could see several of the others standing at the entrance faces grim, very obviously waiting for them. Wind, Warriors, and Legend had removed their armor in favor of very simplistic clothes and Wind was toting a bag over his shoulder. Time stood off to the side, though he seemed to be fighting to keep a smile off his face. Everyone could tell the moment the group got close to their comrades as noses began to wrinkle and eyes teared up.
"What in the dark world happened," Legend cried out with his hands over his mouth and nose as all eyes zeroed in on the wolf.
"Uh well Wolfie is kinda having a rough day," Four said unhelpfully trying to play down the awfulness of it all. "Anyway what's up? You all have this really somber look about you."
"Wwwwweeeeellllll," Wind drawled out the word looking rather sheepish yet somehow excited at the same time.
Legend snorts at the all too obvious statement. It was hard to describe the look on his face, somewhere between annoyed but enjoying being annoying. "Wolfie's day is about to get a whole lot worse, as is the rest of ours. Wolfie's got fleas and he needs a bath. And unfortunately for us the stable owner won't let any of us into our beds until he's had one. There's also the fact they only have four beds left and if we don't hurry we'll be sleeping on the ground again. So get ready and help us haul him over to the water for a washing, because I'll be damned if I'm going to sleep on the ground when there's beds available."
If Twilight could speak in this form he'd be using every swear word he'd ever learned. Of course! Of freaking course that was why he'd been itching since they went to the woods. The puppies he'd played with must have had them. Goddesses he hated fleas. He'd gotten them once from the cats in Castle Town and it had taken him ages to get rid of them, finally having to soak in the Lanayru spirit spring for three days before he was free.
Growling lowly Twilight began to back away from his friends. No way…No way was there any chance he was going to let them wash him. As he backed away he began to assess his options for escape. Legend and Wind were still in front of him. Hyrule, Wild, and Four were to his left and right looking a bit confused, and in Wild's case mortified. Wait! Where was Warr…? "Oh Goddesses what in the world did you get into Wolfie?!"
Warriors had apparently circled around while they were talking, knowing 'Wolfie' wouldn't like the idea of a bath. He'd managed to sneak up on him then grab him around the middle. It took everything in Twilight not to snap at the man, but that didn't stop him from writhing and squirming to try and break free.
"Damn he's heavy. What in the dark world have you been feeding him Wild?" Warriors words were grit out through his teeth as he worked to keep ahold of the struggling wolf.
"Well come on," Legend snapped at the other three as he and Wind followed Warriors. "He'd not going to be able to do this on his own." Hyrule immediately followed while Wild and Four shared a grimacing look before going after their friends. They were both aware this wasn't going to end well.
Warriors had found a spot in the river that was shallow enough to stand but deep enough to get Wolfie mostly submerged. Wind had produced a couple of bottles of some liquid that the owner of the stable had given them to get rid of the fleas. Apparently he'd felt bad that the dogs at the stable were the ones that gave Wolfie the fleas.
The scrubbing commenced with Warriors and Legend holding Wolfie still while Wild, Hyrule, and Wind worked the grime out of the thick coat before applying the solution given to them. From his spot in the water Twilight could see Four taking a seat beside Time who was clearly fighting, and failing, to keep the smirk off his face. Growling lowly Twilight ground his teeth together so hard he swore they were going to crack. Oh they were all going to pay dearly for this. He didn't know how yet, but he was going to make them suffer.
It took forever but finally all the mess was out of his fur and Wolfie was left smelling strongly of citrus, and something else he couldn't place. As they all walked out of the river Twilight made sure to shake all over them, including Time and Four. It wasn't much at the moment, but he got a small amount of satisfaction at their cries of displeasure.
Luckily the stable owner still had the four beds available, though it would mean they'd have to double up and one person would be without a bed. Though he said Wolfie would have to sleep outside because for one he didn't want his place smelling like wet dog, and for two people would be scared of the wolf. "Okay so that puts Time with Four, Warriors with Wind, Hyrule with Sky, and Wild with me," Legend stated after they'd decided they should divvy it up according to size.
"What about Twilight," Sky inquired looking around. "I mean he is without a bed roll after all."
"He's probably off trying to pet the wild horses out there. Either way he isn't here so he misses out." Legend and Sky's conversation had Wild wincing and glancing out the door where Wolfie was glowering.
It was a chilly night as Wild made dinner, and the others sat around talking. The others had been keeping a close eye on Wolfie to keep him from wandering off. The owner had advised them to rub in some dried lavender or rosemary to help prevent the bug from returning so they were waiting for his fur to dry to do just that. At long last the group went to their beds, Wild and Four being sure to stoke a good fire for Wolfie to sleep near after Wind had applied the powder. "Sorry about all this," Wild murmured into his ear. "I left my bedroll out for you. Once everyone is asleep you can use it." With that he was off, at last leaving Twilight alone. With a sigh Twilight got to his feet to go find somewhere to shift. He doubted he'd get a lot of sleep, but at least it would give him plenty of time to plot his revenge.
A/N: Hey Everyone,
It's been a while since I posted anything for a multitude of reasons, but the recent linked universe stories from tumblr and such have given me a bit of inspiration lately. So I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. It might be slow going, but I'm trying. I'll admit Twilight is my favorite of the Links so any postings will likely be centered around this character.