After finishing his food, Link felt he had enough energy to get up. He was slightly woozy, but he got over that feeling fast enough. The hylian's clothes were folded on one of the chairs, and he got dressed slowly, making sure the rough fabric didn't scrape any of his bruises.

Link let his breakfast settle in his stomach before venturing out of the room. The door opened up into a short hallway. To his left, a staircase led down. That being the only exit, the hylian walked down it. Another hall led from the base of the stairs and ended in a door. Link strode towards it, but stopped just before turning the handle. Beyond the sturdy wood, he heard two voices. They sounded like Dren and Tauren… and one was very angry.

"… and how could you lose Tye? Muro, too! It's a wonder you even keep track of your own clothes!" the deeper voice scolded. That had to be Tauren.

"Well, it's not like I had a choice, old man," Dren countered. "Those sandstorms are so disorienting. I couldn't see my own horse's head, let alone the others'. And I'm sure Tye's alright. He can get out of any situation. Muro's got his magic, too. So don't worry so much."

"Harrumph. You really have no idea what you've done. Why, stopping in that town was the worst thing you could've possibly done!"

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"I'll tell you what could happen, you cocky rogue!" Link reeled back. That wasn't either Dren or Tauren, but another man with a snappy voice. The hylian hadn't even realized that there were other people in the room.

I should listen more closely, he thought. It could come in handy.

"Gebin," Dren sighed, "who even knows what we're doing? I didn't tell anyone about the flute."

"You don't need to tell someone for them to know about it," the snappy one- Link assumed he was the one named Gebin- barked. "The Five have been looking for the flute since they learned that I'm still alive. They've been trailing you three ever since you went off into the desert."

"Ha!" Dren laughed. "I haven't seen them. And why wou…"

"Shut up, child!" Gebin growled. "The Five are dangerous. And by going into a city, you've put all the inhabitants in danger. You know Sessariuth…" A short pause followed. Gebin continued. "Of course you do. She left you an only child. The only child from Refenza who's still alive. That lady's minions would have followed you… and they will destroy the lives of anyone you meet. I must go to this city- Katigura, was it?- and warn the citizens. Come on, Sami. We must hurry."

Link heard the scraping of moving chairs. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Dren put Katigura in danger? The hylian just couldn't wrap his mind around it. Then a realization came to him. Gebin said that Dren was the only child from his village. Does that mean…?

Link burst through the door. On the other side was a large room, like the common room at an inn. To his left, a fire burned within an open fireplace. Opposite that was a pair of double doors carved with arcane symbols. Paintings adorned the walls, though they were rough and unprofessional. A few round tables were scattered throughout the room, and padded chairs ringed each one. The nearest table, a bit to the right of the door Link came through, was where the voices were coming from. Tauren and Dren sat next to each other on the side nearest the hylian. Opposite them was another hylian boy whose face was more graceful, his chestnut hair more kempt and hidden beneath a cap, and his demeanor colder. He was wearing a brown overcoat and standing up beside the table. And on the chair left of Tauren, standing on a chair and resting his arms on the table, was a white fox with three tails. No one else was in the room.

The four at the table jumped at Link's entrance and turned to look at the newcomer. Tauren's mouth dropped, and he stumbled to stand. Dren ducked sideways and ended up sprawled on the hard floor. The fox yipped and bounced onto the table, and the other boy hid his hand in his jacket. Link could hear the scrape of metal coming out of its sheath, but the boy didn't draw any blade that he could see and kept his hand in his coat.

Link ignored their obvious surprise. "What is going on here?" he shouted. His voice seemed to echo in the open room, and everyone reeled back. Anger, whirling in his chest, was all Link could feel right then. "Why's Katigura in danger?" The hylian turned his gaze down to the thief, who was crawling backwards, under the table. Without hesitation, he grabbed Dren's tunic and hoisted him up. "And did you really lie to me, you gafuun?"

Dren shrunk back as much as he could. Link was stunned that he looked so scared; he'd never seen himself as being that intimidating. But the rage was building up inside, and the hylian couldn't keep it down. He couldn't focus on anything except hurting the kid who'd lied to him.

"What… what about?" Dren stuttered.

Link shook the boy. "About your brother! And the healer! Everything was a ruse to get me to help you! Wasn't it?"

Dren was trembling so badly that Link almost couldn't make out what he said. "I… I just… just wanted to… escape. I didn't… I didn't know… that you'd…" his voice trailed off.

Link couldn't handle it anymore. He threw the boy to his left as hard as he could. Dren crashed into one of the tables, cracking the redwood. He crumpled to the ground with the wooden splinters raining down on him. Link was upon him in an instant, raising his fist. The thief saw what he was planning to do and rolled to the right just as the hylian struck. Link didn't feel the pain as his knuckles connected with floor and became embedded with wooden slivers. He turned to Dren, who scrambled to his feet.

Link began to advance on the thief again, but Tauren crossed his path and planted his feet firmly on the wood planks of the floor between the boys. "Enough of this!" he boomed. "There is no reason for fighting! We can resolve this without bloodshed!"

Link hardly heard the old man's words. A pain, not so much unlike rage, rippled through his muscles. It must've hurt something fierce, but the hylian couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel anything. It was like a force outside himself had taken control of his body, forced him out, and, through the pain of anger, was controlling him.

He curled his hands like claws and crouched low. Link felt his body stretching, and his face was growing forward, into a snout. His nails and teeth hardened and grew sharp. Spines crept out of his back in two rows on either side of his back. And a thick tail sprouted at the end of his spine that ended in hard scales. The hylian felt hair growing all over his body, and finally, had to fall to on all fours to hold himself up.

What… just… happened? That was the last rational thought that went through Link's mind after his transformation was complete. Then his consciousness submerged to a half awake state.

The surge of motion from a pounce.

The coppery taste of blood.

The scream of a little boy.

The prick of a small blade.

The thrill of sprinting towards a new victim.

A sharp pain along the back.

The crunch of wood under weight.

Teeth sinking into the neck and pain.

Shaking, and rolling, and barking.

The teeth came out.

A loud shout.

A long stream of words.

The world a blur of colors.

The thud as sleep took hold.

A peaceful dream.

A/N: An interesting twist, don't you think? Please review this chapter.

Gafuun… a rude way of referring to a thief or criminal.