He feels much kinder as a Hylian than he does as a wolf. No strange inclinations to attack everything in sight, or eat raw meat, or bite the stupid imp on his back.

That imp's name is Midna, by the way. He'd learned that from the Princess of Hyrule, not even the imp herself.

But he isn't one to talk. Not like he'd ever given her his name, either. And not like he could, since he'd been a wolf for who knew how many days.

"So your name's Link, huh?" The imp leaps up from his shadow. Blackness swathes her small form, leaving only her single sunset-colored eye to peer at him from amidst darkness.

He elects not to respond.

She grins - he can tell, because her teeth flash white against her shadowy form. "That spirit - what was it called, Faron? - seemed to know a lot about you. More than even you know about yourself. Really, did you know you're supposed to be a hero?"

Still he says nothing. Her tone drips with sarcasm, because clearly she doesn't think he's "hero" material, and he's sure that if he tries to reply to her, only scathing words will pass his lips.

Midna tests his patience. Patience he had once thought was endless.

So he only turns away from her and starts walking, shallow spring water splashing around his feet with every step. He doesn't know where he's going. Doesn't really care, either. Just as long as he's far away from that unbearable little demon. Maybe he'll stop by Ordon, see how everyone's doing, take a nap...

"Hey! Where are you going?" she demands, hurriedly floating to his side. She tries to lay a delicate hand upon his shoulder in order to stop him, but her fingers only pass through his skin. He hears her mumbling some sort of complaint about being an intangible shadow. "Say something, stupid wolf, or did you forget how to speak?"

Link pretends she doesn't exist, and he keeps walking, away from the glimmering spring. Sunset paints the sky with a dozen brilliant colors, and bathes the waters in orange. It's beautiful, he thinks, and his heart pangs at the fact that he can't enjoy it. Not with that imp beside him, anyway.

"Where are you going?" Midna hisses. "Didn't you hear Faron? We're supposed to go to the temple! For your information, you're going in the wrong direction, idiot!"

He stares ahead as he walks, once bright azure eyes dull and tired. Too many days he's gone with hardly any sleep at all. Too many days with an imp kicking his sides. Too many days...

Or maybe not a single day had passed at all. How can he know for sure, what with how the entire world had been enveloped in never-ending twilight?

"Hey, stupid wolf! Turn around! Don't you want to save your friends? What if they're being tortured as we speak?"

Stops.

He just stops, and so does his heart, for a second. His stomach churns at the mere thought of it, and he thinks the world might be spinning, but he doesn't know, because he can only stare unseeing at the swaying emerald grasses before him as his throat suddenly goes dry and he can't swallow, can hardly even breathe -

Because the children, and Ilia, Ilia -

He whirls to face the cruel beast, wind whipping his hair around his face at the sudden movement. Dull eyes sharpen, and he meets her fiery gaze with his own icy one. "Don't you dare," and he doesn't even recognize his own voice. He thinks it sounds much too similar to a wolf's snarl. It makes him cringe.

But Midna only grins, of course she does, and plants her tiny fists on her wide hips. "Ooh! He finally speaks! Do you always sound so angry?"

Link swallows. He averts his gaze for a moment, nervously shifting his weight. "I'm... sorry." Why is he apologizing to a beast like her - someone who never once showed him any form of kindness? Except freeing him from that dungeon cell. He supposes that counts. But then again, not really, because she only freed him so she could blackmail him with constant mentions of his friends and obey her every whim like a slave.

"Good boy!" Midna laughs, and pats his head as if he's a dog. "Now go to that temple unless you want your friends to die. Got it?" And without another word she dives into his shadow.

How he hates her. Utterly despises her. And he hates the feeling of it; it taints his blood, turns it into fire, and his thoughts swirl like a dark storm within his mind. He's never hated someone so deeply before.

He decides he hates hatred.

How ironic, he thinks with a sigh.

And even though he despises the imp, he realizes she might be right. As much as he wants to return home to that beautiful, quiet little paradise of Ordon, and as much as he only wants to take a long nap, the thought of Ilia and the children dying all because he's too lazy to save them is painful. Far too painful.

So he sets off in the direction of the temple.

"It's all your fault!" she huffs, throwing her hands into the air.

"My fault? My fault?" he snaps. Patience, he tries to remember. Patience. But around her, it's so hard... "You're the one who can float, and yet you just sit around in my shadow all day and do nothing!"

"I'm not the slave here, you are, stupid dog! Do your master's bidding!"

You're not my master. Goddesses, she makes him want to spit fire, the accursed little monster.

Ilia, how he misses her, and wishes she could take the imp's place. The journey would be so much easier with her encouraging, kind presence at his side. Of course she was stern at times, but that was only because she cared.

Was. No, she still is. She's not dead yet, he tries to convince himself, but he isn't so sure. Heaving a tired sigh, he ambles toward the round wall and plops down into the grass, back pressed against the inside of the great tree that forms the temple. His eyes drift shut, and his mind wanders to simpler times - times of joy, and laughter, and a gentle breeze running cool fingers through his golden hair.

He'd always planned on marrying Ilia, maybe. He hadn't ever been sure of that. Ilia herself and her father had always just assumed that was going to be their future, their reality, but whenever they spoke of it to him, it made him uneasy.

How terribly indecisive he'd been. Now, though, he knows for sure - he loves Ilia, and wants to marry her, and the thought of settling down with her in the peaceful green of Ordon brings a tiny smile to his lips.

But now it's too late. She's gone, and might even be dead, and he's alone with only a demon for company.

"Hey, lazy wolf, get a move on!"

Speaking of demons...

"Are you even awake? Ugh, I swear," Midna grumbles. "Remember what that spirit told you? You're supposed to be the hero. If the entire world ends tomorrow, it'll be your fault!"

Apparently everything's my fault, he thinks bitterly, and wishes she'd just shut up for once. Honestly, does she ever stop talking?

"Stupid dog! Do you want your friends to die?"

Rage boils within him. His lip might be curling against his will, and he feels a snarl caged in the back of his throat, threatening to break free. He tries hard to fight it back. After all, if he growls at her, she'll growl back.

So maybe, just maybe, if he smiles at her... she might smile back.

It's what they always say. I'll kill her with kindness. I'll do it for as long as it takes, until she shows me at least a shred of decency in return. Just like that, it becomes his new resolution. Something to distract him on this awful journey.

And so she's clearly surprised when his eyes flutter open in a rather peaceful manner, and he shrugs his shoulders. The overwhelming urge to snap at her dissolves into nothingness when he sees the hilarious look of shock evident in her single visible eye as he just smiles at her. "All right, sorry. I'll get going."

Then a terrible grin spreads slow across her terrible face, and that terrible fang pokes from beneath terrible lips. "That's more like it. Good boy!" she coos.

His new resolution nearly flies out the window.

It takes all his strength of will not to snap at her. Silence is the best option, he thinks, because if he opens his mouth only insults will come from it. So he presses his lips together and walks onward. Onward through the confusing temple, opening door after door and not knowing what in the sweet name of Nayru to do in each room.

Midna just floats along behind him, constantly cackling and making fun of his confusion.

It'll be a difficult resolution to keep, that much is for sure.