Holy crap, my first fanfic on ! Wow, this is nuts. Totaly nuts. I actually got off my lazy butt and wrote something? No wai!
So, yeah. Fanfic. If you didn't get it, this is a "What if" fic. Like, "What if Link from Twilight Princess was a wolf who became a human?" I dunno. What if? Yeah, that's what this is.
Just to be safe, I've rated this T for very possible violence, possible language and anything else that might come up. Um...ya... please enjoy!
The wind wailed and hissed over the unforgivably cold surface of Snow Peak. The sky held dark, threatening clouds, the type that always hung over the mountain at night.
An older man stood near the entrance, shivering in his thick coat. 17 hours of going in and out of Snowpeak, and not a single Yeti sighted. It was to be expected, but it was still disappointing.
He had so been hoping to see a Yeti that day—That young woman, Madam Fanadi or something, had told him that he was bound to make a life-changing discovery if he went to Snowpeak that day.
Well, it was just a lesson to him then—no matter how much you paid them, there was no need to get worked up over some delusional gypsy's ranting.
The man shrugged his jacket further over his tired body, and decided to call it a day. It was already quite late—his 'daughter' would be wondering where he was. He could practically hear her mature little voice calling up to him: "Honestly, you have to come home earlier! Snowpeak gets deadly cold at night, and you wouldn't be able to see anything even if it did come! No point in compromising your health for chances you can take tomorrow!"
He chuckled to himself, his breath coming out in white puffs. Hardly seven, and already she was trying to be head of the household. At this rate, she would be swamping herself with responsibility before she even turned 10. She was probably trying to cook dinner right then—he should probably go home, stop her from burning the house down…
Looking back on it, he would recall that being the moment when his life was utterly changed.
The goddess Farore, he guessed, had been responsible. After all, her element was that of wind, and it was the wind that had caused him to stop. Or rather, the sound that the wind carried to him.
It was the sound of crying. But it wasn't human, nowhere close. It was the cry of an animal—a small one, by the sounds of it. The wind, if it hadn't been blowing the sound towards him, would have probably drowned out the tiny sound. As the man listened, the cry turned into a lost sounding yipping, and then a tiny howl.
The man recoiled slightly. A wolfos! A baby wolfos, but where there were young, there were mothers. And where there were mothers…there was a den. Finding a den of bloodthirsty wolfos was one discovery he would be glad to pass up.
The man looked, against his better judgment, in the direction of the sound. He was surprised that he was able to spot the creature making the noise. Usually, wolfos were pure white, like the snow around them. The only part of their bodies that weren't white were their eyes, and by the time you saw those, it was too late.
But there it was, a little black dot on the white landscape. From what he could make out, it was quite young—probably just recently born.
His apprehension eased slightly as he saw it, but it was soon replaced with a strange sort of pity. He had seen enough to know what this was all about—wolfos probably considered black fur too much of a liability for the rest of the pack, as it would too easily cause a hunting pack to be spotted. And from what he had seen, a wolfos who could not hunt meant nothing to the clan.
He had probably been left out by the pack to die. At his age, his fur coat had hardly begun to develop, and he would probably freeze in a short matter of time.
The man again sighed, re-pulling his hood over his head. Such is nature, I suppose he thought, heading towards the Snowpeak entrance.
However, just at that moment, the wind did the strangest thing. With a raspy howl, it quite suddenly changed directions, blowing right into the man's face.
He covered his face with his arms, trying to protect it from the stinging bite of the wind. What in the…? The man thought, turning his face from the wind. By chance, he caught sight of the distant shape of the wolfos pup. It seemed to still be crying.
At this rate, it'll attract some predator's attention. And I don't want to be around when that happens. The man thought, struggling to the mountain entrance.
If anything, the wind only got stronger. Soon, despite his best efforts, he couldn't even move. With no way forward, the only way was back—to certain death.
"Dear Farore!" He cried into the wind, frustration fueling his cry. "What in the name of you and your sisters are you trying to accomplish?"
As if on cue, the wind suddenly strengthened, tossing the poor man onto his back. As he struggled out of the snow, he realized he had been fully turned around, and was once again facing the little wolfos.
It hit him, right then. Perhaps the goddesses really were trying to accomplish something.
He looked up at the sky again, this time far more timid. "Ah…" he said before regaining his bearings. He pointed a frozen, mitt-encased hand at the pup. "…That?" he asked, lacking his usual eloquence.
As if to answer, the wind once again strengthened, pushing the man towards the wolf pup…and, consequently, the large pool of ice water that separated them.
The man saw this, and cried out in panic. "Alright, alright! Please stop—I can make it on my own!"
Almost immediately, the winds died down.
The man straightened himself out, severely shaken. He had always believed in the goddesses… but in all his life, he never thought one would bother themselves with someone like him… and for the sake of a wolfos pup…
However, at this point, the biggest problem needed addressing. A giant lake of ice cold water separated him from the wolfos, and he needed to get to the other side. Well, there were those giant chunks of ice floating in the water, but it's not like he was expected to use those, after all…
…Right…?
When he noticed that no godly bridge or other unearthly aid arrived, it occurred to him that might have been exactly what Farore wanted him to do.
Anxiously, he lined himself up with the closest chunk of ice. After all, a goddess was specifically telling him to do this, so he wasn't even going to think of refusing. Still…
"I don't know how you expect me to do this, Farore," he muttered to himself, "not all of us hold your courage."
And then he leapt.
The good news: Traversing the icy river was easier than he had expected. The bad news: He had expected to fall off into the water on the first leap. So while it was easier than he had expected, he still had more close calls than he ever wanted to have again.
He stifled a cry as the toe of one of his boots dipped into the water for a moment. He pulled it back quickly, but he could already see the end of that boot beginning to harden. Thankfully, he had pulled out before his toe could be affected. Still, he would have to avoid kicking anything hard until his boot had thawed out, lest the tip shatter on contact.
With water this dangerous, could anyone blame him for his fear?
After an immeasurable amount of time (or perhaps, just a few minutes?), he found himself, finally, on the other side of the dangerous lake. The only casualties from the cross had been the toe of his boot and just the tip of his mittens—not bad for his first time.
As he neared the pup, he realized how much time his trip had taken—already, the pup's wails were failing, turning into half-hearted whimpering.
Quickly but carefully, he picked the dying thing up and wrapped it in the folds of his jacket. The pup snuggled closer to the man's body, desperately trying to warm itself. It's cold, wet nose nuzzled at his shirt.
He couldn't help but smile at this. He supposed that at such a young age, it would be easy enough to domesticate…
Even as he was making these plans, strange white shapes moved against the snowy landscape. The normal, untrained eye might have missed it, but the man hadn't spent all those hours scanning the landscape for yeti without gaining some sharp eyesight. And what he saw, he didn't like a bit.
Wolfos. At least six of them, glaring at him with glowing red eyes and evil intent.
A howl rose from the pack, sending shivers up the man's spine. He knew that howl all too well—the cry of battle. The hunt had begun.
With a stifled curse, he tucked the wolfos pup closer to his chest and made for the icy lake. If he was going down, he preferred a quick freezing to being eaten alive.
The wolfos didn't seem to agree. Another howl from the leader of the pack and they were on him, bounding down the slopes like only a predator in his natural territory could. Even though his eyes were glued to the front, he could still here them snarling, their teeth gnashing together, hungry for his flesh…
He finally reached the shore of the icy lake, and he wasted no time in winding up for the jump to the first ice block. This lack of planning resulted in an almost fatal loss of balance, his grip on the wolfos pup just barely strong enough to keep it from falling into the lake.
He took a moment to readjust himself and the pup, breathing raggedly at the realization of how close of a call that had been.
That pause was all one of the wolfos needed to clamp onto his leg.
The man cried out, cursing himself for thinking that the creatures could not follow him onto the ice. It was their home territory, for goddesses sake! Of course they would be able too—
Wait.
Goddesses!
He bashed the wolfo's head unceremoniously against the ice, causing it to lose its grip and fall into the water. The man winced as he watched the howling thing change from wolfos to a block of ice in a frighteningly short period of time. It was made all the more grotesque as the body bobbed up and down in the lake like some sort of demented ice cube.
"Goddesses!" the man cried, his voice cracking from panic. "I, who am attempting to save this wolfos pup, such as Farore's will, beg your help! Though this task was appointed to me, I ask for your aid, as I am but—"
The ice block under him bucked up into the air, almost dislodging its passengers. Apparently, the goddesses weren't ones for small talk.
But they had certainly heard him. As he watched, the water began to churn in a way that was impossible for such a still lake. The wolfos on the shore tensed, uncertain of what to make of it.
The water began moving with ever increasing force, back and forth, back and forth, working itself up to the point that its freezing waters began spilling onto the shore, startling but not frightening away the relentless hunters.
The lake rumbled as the water became enraged, creating small whirlpools and causing waves to crash onto the snow banks. It thrashed and groaned as ice from the shore broke off from the sheer force of the water's fury.
And yet, in the middle of this chaos, the man and wolfos remained untouched, the calm spot in the middle of the storm.
The man's eyes widened. "Nayru," he breathed.
And then the wall of water that had been building behind him came crashing down.
The water completely flooded the shore, overtaking the wolfos as they disappeared into the wave with yips of terror. All that was touched instantly turned to ice, leaving behind a shining layer of glass on everything.
And again, when the dust had cleared, the man and wolfos pup found themselves the only things spared from the onslaught. The pup, as if sensing its own safety, yipped happily before snuggling deeper into the man's coat to sleep.
The poor man could do little but stare at the icy wasteland around him in awe. He could make out the lumped shapes of the frozen wolfos, but felt no urge to try and unearth them. He managed to choke out a few words. "Oh great, dear goddesses…"
A strangely warm breeze danced across the man's cheek, startling him. A happy, playful voice chuckled at him. My courage, dear one, is something that you most certainly have, it laughed into his ear. With a final sigh, the wind faded away, leaving the warm feeling lingering.
For the longest time, all he could do was stand there.
Then, with a final glance, he went home.
"Auru! Auru!"
A little black-haired girl barged into the living room, calling loudly. She gasped when she saw him—he was dripping wet, exhausted and looked like he might have had the beginnings of frostbite in some places. He also looked content, a sense of warmth and accomplishment rolling off of him in waves. He looked down at his lap where (much to her shock), the girl saw a wolfos pup, happily suckling goats milk from a dripping cheesecloth.
"Auru!" she cried, running to him. "What happened? Were you hurt? Why do you have a wolfos pup with you? Auru!"
He laughed at her enthusiasm and calmed her with his hand. He sat forward a bit and motioned his daughter to come closer. As she cautiously approached, he said, "Ashei, my dear… come closer, say hello to our new pet—no, family member."
As she drew closer, the wolfos stopped suckling and turned to see this new person. Ashei stiffened when he saw her, but the pup only yipped happily and wagged his tail. She visibly relaxed, even stretching out a hand to pet it.
"What will we name him?" she asked her father. Ah yes, the proper way to address a new family member. Not it—him.
Auru's mouth moved before his mind could do anything, and he supposed that it was the goddesses meddling again. Quite unlike them, but it was not his place to judge their ways, or the name, really.
"His name is Link." He said softly.
Yeah, I went a little crazy on the line breaks down here. First time, remember?
Which goes for my writing too. Please review, and while flames are frowned upon and mocked in private, constructive critisism is always welcome!
'Scuse me, I need to go reward myself. I actually put a story up! Wooo...*parties*
