Hello, I'm tired and stressed out about French homework, I'll see you at the bottom.
The Wolf and the Fox: Chapter 12, Lanayru's Tale
"Hn, did the Zoras who live upriver do something… or is it a curse by that spirit that floats around up there…?" Celeste and Midna listened to the man dressed in ridiculous clothing and makeup ramble on about the size of Lake Hylia.
"Perhaps you should go up and ask them yourself." the fox muttered under her breathe.
As if to answer her question he let out a big sigh and said, "Whatever. It's not like I can go up there and complain… that's way too high."
"Someone's lazy." said Midna, rolling her one visible eye.
Celeste stayed silent, she was still sore about the imp pushing her off the bridge. Landing in the water had knocked the wind out of her and Midna had to grab her by the ruff and drag her to shore. She had apologized but Celeste just ignored her and shook the dreaded substance out of her fur.
"Hm?" The fox's attention turned back to the man when his brow rose he and looked past the duo a little ways away. "Whuzzat, a customer?"
Celeste and Midna turned and saw a twilit archer shuffling around looking very suspicious.
"YIKES! IT'S A MONSTER!" The man let out a scared cry and cowered, crossing his arms over his head in defence.
"Let's go, Red!" Midna prompted, pulling on the fox's ears. She let out a soft growl but obeyed nevertheless and loped towards their enemy.
The twilit archer saw them before they could get close enough to attack. It rushed forward and plucked a bird shaped piece of grass from the ground. Blowing the grass, the notes echoed around the lake and a loud screech came as an answer. Celeste growled as a large twilit bird flew down and stopped beside the archer. It climbed onto the bird's back and lit an arrow then sent it flying towards the imp and fox. Celeste leaped out of the way and crouched a little ways away, her tail lashing back and forth in anticipation. The bird flapped its ugly wings and swooped low to the ground so the archer could get a better aim. She took this chance to leap into the air and fasten her jaws around its neck. She used her claws to get a grip on its leathery skin as she bit down on its shoulder. The bird screeched and managed to shake the fox off but as soon as her paws touched the ground she launched herself back at the monster. With a few more bites it let out a last screech before throwing the archer off and flying away from them.
"Hurry up and take the archer down before it gets away!" Midna exclaimed, pointing to the monster who was trying to make a getaway. Celeste finished it off with a swift bite to the neck and it burst into twilight matter.
Turning around, they saw the bird stretch its wings and launch itself into the air. Midna floated off Celeste's back and plopped herself down on the bird's instead. It thrashed around unhappily and Midna's hair turned into a hand.
"Hey! Stop it!" she scolded. "I'm your master now! Settle down!"
The bird eventually stopped and hovered quietly over the ground. Midna turned her head and addressed Celeste. "Hey, why don't we use this guy to get us all the way to the lake's water source?"
Before Celeste had time to object, Midna ordered her new underling to pick the fox up and fly upriver.
oooOOOooo
"Whoops…" Midna peered over the side and watched as Celeste plummeted towards the bottom of the gulch.
"MIDNAAAAAAaaaa…!" The imp directed the bird to dive after the fox and they managed to catch her before she fell too far. The fox yelled out curses in a variety of different languages but they all sounded like odd gargles, yelps, and growls to the imp.
"Eeh hee hee! Calm down, I caught you didn't I?" she giggled. "Now stop squirming or my pet will drop you again."
oooOOOooo
Ignoring the twilit keese, Celeste padded towards a large ice structure. She let out a small content sigh that instantly turned to mist in the frigid air. They found a pile of snow that was close enough to a pillar of ice that Celeste could jump to.
"I think we can get up from here… Let's go…" she said a little more quiet than usual.
Hm, maybe the cold is getting to her, Celeste thought. Midna floated from ice ledge to ice ledge and Celeste took her time jumping, being extra careful not to slip and fall. When she reached the rock ledge a large piece of ice fell from the ceiling, blocking her way. Carefully climbing over it, she let Midna float ahead to show her where to jump. Chunks of the structure broke off and almost hit Celeste as she leaped from each ledge. Over jumping one of the ledges, she slipped over the side and clung to the ice for dear life.
Finally making it to the top, they continued towards Zora's Domain. Celeste let out a groan when she saw three twilit beasts waiting for them. The familiar orange glow of the force field appeared but she realized that one of the beasts was separated from the other two. She snuck over to the lone one and let out a low growl, letting her hackles rise in a fierce snarl. The beast spotted her and raised its mutated hand, ready to swipe at her. But Celeste moved faster and clasped her jaws around its surprisingly skinny neck and with a jerk it snapped, the beast limply collapsing to the frozen ground.
Moving back to the remaining two, Midna threw out her energy field and Celeste lured the two beasts together. Once they were close enough she launched herself at the first one then the second and landed a few feet away. They fell to the ground and all three of them burst into twilight matter then floated up into the sky to create a portal.
Celeste straightened up and looked at the portal, admiring her handiwork.
"Well you've made another portal." stated Midna. "If you want to breathe some fresh air then let me know, otherwise let's keep moving."
Celeste nodded and finally got a good look at the throne room. The pale blue-grey walls had beautiful patterns carved into them. Pillars were lining the wall and a large stone throne was set at the head of the room. Everything was covered in a thin layer of ice and there were several piles of snow scattered around the stone hall. Celeste was about to pad forward to inspect the throne when she felt Midna tug on her ear.
"Hey, Red, take a look at the ice bellow us!" Celeste arched a brow and looked down then let out a gasp. The ice contained the missing Zora's. Some looked as though they were peacefully swimming around but most were spiralling towards the surface, desperate to evade whatever turned them into Zoracicles.
"Whoa…" Celeste mumbled, tapping the ice with a claw.
"Yeah, whoa… Sooo, what do we do now?" Midna asked. "I mean, we can't just leave them here."
Celeste nodded in agreement. "If only we had something hot enough to melt all the ice."
"Like a giant smoldering piece of rock?" the imp suggested.
"Uh, sure. I guess that could work."
"Well then, get ready to warp."
"Where are we going?" Celeste asked as Midna pushed herself into the air.
"The volcano, I'll show you what I'm thinking of when we get there." she said.
Celeste wrinkled her nose when she felt herself begin to rise into the sky. It felt unnatural but she guessed it wasn't that different than using a warp spell. As she neared the portal she saw Midna fly in first and she was about to follow when a bright flash of purple obscured her vision and blast into the portal right when she entered. The last thing she detected before her world went black was a deep evil laughter resonating within her mind.
oooOOOooo
As Midna materialized on Death Mountain the imp realized that it had become night time. She looked around, baffled as to why the dark and white fox wasn't around so she could hide in its shadow but she didn't have time to think about it because a small pain in the back of her head was becoming more pronounced. Taking a quick look around, Midna spotted a sleepy Goron and quickly became its shadow. She let out a sigh of relief but wondered where Celeste had gone. She couldn't have gone far but if she wasn't here, then where?
Perhaps she had accidently sent her to the wrong warp point, so Midna decided to check out the one closest to her current location. Not entirely sure her plan would work; the imp slid out from the Goron's shadow and became one with the overhanging rock ledges'. She felt no pain from the pale light of the moon so she assumed her idea worked after all.
Midna quickly made her way down the mountain, using any shadow she could find to move around. Entering Kakariko Village she was met with an eerie silence. The moon cast a ghostly light over the whole village and it also illuminated the beady eyes the crows that perched on some of the buildings. Midna floated silently through the quiet village as nothing more than a shadow that had a slight outer glow. She could hear voices coming from behind the doors of the inn and decided to see if one of them belonged to Link. Slipping under the door, Midna slid into the shadow closest to her, which coincidently belonged to Link. The blonde called something to the people inside the kitchen then opened one of the wooden doors and stepped out of the building. As soon as it closed Midna popped out of his shadow and she giggled when he jumped at least a foot into the air in surprise.
"M-Midna!" he exclaimed,
"Eeh hee, hey." she greeted.
"What are you doing here, and where's, Celeste?" Link asked, looking around expecting to see the familiar head full of red hair or her piercing amber eyes, but he found neither.
"Hn, well about that," Midna paused, unsure on how to word her situation. "Red and I found the Zoras of Lake Hylia all frozen. We weren't going to leave them like that so you know that flaming boulder that had almost done away with us?" Link nodded. "I thought we could use it to melt the ice but when I arrived at Death Mountain, Celeste was nowhere in sight."
"Did you guys warp?" he asked.
"Yeah. I was thinking that she might've accidently been sent to the warp point in the village but I haven't spotted her yet." Midna answered, shrugging.
"Are you sure she's still not at Lake Hylia?"
"I don't think so, but it probably won't hurt to check." she said, already floating towards the spring. Link followed closely prepared for his transformation into a wolf. Midna allowed Link to warp first, making sure the same thing that happened to Celeste didn't happen to him, although she wasn't entirely sure what did happen to the girl.
Link and Midna materialized at the entrance to the spring (which was weird because there was only a warp point in the throne room of Zora's Domain) and the grey wolf instantly smelled something fishy. (A/N: Haha geddit? Fishy? Ha! I crack myself up. Anyways, please continue.) He growled recognizing the pungent metallic smell of blood. As Midna realized how serious the situation was her smile disappeared to be replaced by a small frown.
Link looked down and spotted a puddle of blood. There was a small trail of blood leading into the cave in front of them. Midna, who was floating beside Link, looked at the grey wolf. They both nodded and cautiously entered the cave.
A loud growl erupted from Link's throat- he was expecting to see a Twilit Beast or something but the only living things that were inside was Celeste and the remnants of the Light Spirit. The sound of the growl perked the fox's ears and she turned her head to see Link and Midna loitering near the entrance. She frowned at the sight of the imp.
"I materialized under water, in the puddle they call a lake." she muttered bitterly.
Midna's nose wrinkled in confusion. "That's weird; these portals must be out of whack or something, because we ended up here instead of inside the throne room."
"Well it's not my fault your shadow magic is so faulty." Celeste stood, her tail twitching.
Link cleared his throat and padded in between his companions. "Celeste, did you get the Vessel of Light?" he asked. She nodded and brushed a paw over the empty fruit vine hanging from her neck. Link nodded in approval and turned to address the Light Spirit. "Don't worry; we'll get your light back as soon as we can."
"Thank you… I mark your map with the locations of the insectsss… hurry…!" The little balls of light glowed feebly when she talked. Link and Celeste dipped their heads politely and left the spring. Midna plopped down on the wolf's back and took out his map.
"Mr. Hero and I will go back and thaw out Zora's Domain," Midna shuffled the paper and it unfolded to reveal the Lanayru Province. "Red can go and start collecting the bugs."
Celeste glanced at the map then padded off towards the boardwalk where she already pounced on a Twilit Insect and collected a Tear. Midna and Link watched Celeste chase after another until she was out of sight before the imp floated into the sky and warped the both of them; again, Link entering the portal first. The duo materialized on Death Mountain near the boulder that had almost crushed them.
Midna slipped out of his shadow and floated beside the snow smoldering boulder. "This thing's been here for a while, but it's still hot. Let's take it back with us."
What are Zoras? he wondered as they began to float back up into the sky.
Link watched in wonder as the boulder materialized over Zora's Domain. His eye twitched when Midna simply dropped it into the throne room without as much as a second thought then flew down after it. The ice shattered on impact and a large cloud of steam quickly filled the room as the cold substance melted and water gushed towards the lake. He hoped that Celeste wasn't standing in the path of the nasty current; she didn't seem to like water very much.
Midna floated lazily to Link's side as he dragged himself out of the water. He shook himself off, soaking the unimpressed imp in the process and looked around as weird fish-like creatures regained their breath on the stone steps.
He padded up to one. "Are these Zoras?"
"Yeah," Midna looked down at the now lukewarm water. "Who knew something so dangerous could come in handy."
"Yeah well, it's a miracle that you didn't kill any of them." Link replied. Midna merely shrugged. The wolf sighed and shook his furry head. His ears pricked however when he heard the soft buzzing of electricity. He padded over to the wall and saw a Twilit Insect resting there. Growling, he shouldered the wall and the bug flew off. Link leaped into the air and snapped the bug's hard outer shell. It fell to the ground, shrivelled up, and burst into Twilight matter, releasing a Tear of Light. Link absorbed it then promptly felt its presence disappear down river, probably going to rest in the Vessel of Light.
Seeing that there were nowhere insects in the throne room, Link turned to leave but a soft urgent voice stopped him in mid-step. He whirled around to see the faint figure of a large Zora. She had soft sapphire eyes, and flowing peach coloured fins.
"Please, you must allow me to thank you for revitalizing both my people and this spring, which is the water source for all the lands in Hyrule. In life, I was the elder of this Zora village and the queen of my people. I was called Rutela." There was a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Not to be rude, but we didn't exactly do it for you guys…" Link turned his head sharply to glare at Midna.
"The dark ones…" They both looked back at Rutela. "They raided this village and, as a message to my people, executed me before them. Young man… You who take the form of a proud beast, I have something to ask of you. When the dark ones descended upon our village I sent my young one, Ralis, to Hyrule Castle to inform Princess Zelda of our fate. But I fear danger has followed him from this doomed place. I feel it. His presence grows fainter to me over time… But my time in this world has passed, and though I would give it gladly, I no longer have a life to risk in this rescue. Please… Would you save my dearest, Prince Ralis?
Midna opened her mouth to answer but the Queen persisted by interrupting her.
"If you do this thing, I will bestow upon you the protection of water. This power will grant you the ability to and respire in very deep water as if you were a Zora. Please... Save my son"
"Hmm… If we save her son then you'll be able to swim like a Zora? Interesting, it could be useful if the last Fused Shadow..."
Link ignored Midna's rambling and said, "Of course we'll save your son."
Queen Rutela gave the wolf a thankful smile before disappearing.
oooOOOooo
The spring glowed gold as Lanayru regained her full form. The Twilight matter that floated around disappeared, the spring water became clear, and fresh air blew into the spring. A shining ball of light floated up only to be caught in between the jaws of a large serpent. Diving back into the water, she glided around before emerging and facing the duo.
"Your effortsss have at last restored each of us Light Spiritsss in Hyrule. O hero chosen by the gods, the dark power that you seek… It waits in the temple set in the bed of Lake Hylia."
Celeste rolled her eyes when she saw Link's shadow move in approval. The blonde opened his mouth to say thank-you but Lanayru cut him off with a soft hiss.
"…But before seeking it, you must now bear witness to sssomething, and never forget it. You must know that it isss the will of the Goddesses that we lock away the forbidden power…"
Celeste watched in interest as Link's gaze became distant and he swayed a bit in place. A few moments after she realized that she wasn't going to be shown the reason why the Fused Shadows had been sealed and went to go lean against the wall of the cave, her arms crossed. It was a few minutes later when she heard Link fall to the ground, panting heavily and sweat dripping from his brow. Her brow rose questionably.
"You…" Lanayru turned her head to look at Celeste.
"Yes?" she asked, shifting uncomfortably under the Light Spirit's piercing gaze.
"The dark power that you ssseek is within the sleeping Lakebed Temple in Lake Hylia" Lanayru blinked and burst into small balls of light before fully disappearing. Link stood up and swayed dangerously but managed to keep his footing as he staggered out of the spring. Taking one last glance at the place where Lanayru disappeared, Celeste followed Link into the light.
Hey, erm so yeah. Celeste got attacked and ended up underwater. How's she make it to shore and who attacked her, and why are the portals all out of whack? Find out by continueing to follow my story. Good-bye.
CMilkLOL
(SKYWARD SWORD FOREVER! GRAAAAAAAAAH KIKWISSSSS!)