Finally! I've been waiting forever to share this chapter. I hope y'all will enjoy it as much as I do. It's been a long time since I've heard from many of you, so...I'm excited to hear what you think.

Please review at the end! :D

Chapter 45

The Unexpected

Zelda's PoV

I lay in the grass gazing up at the screen of the Sheikah Slate, looking at the sky through it. I can't get enough of how cool this device is. I'm still in shock that Rob lent it to us at all. I spent most of this morning studying and playing with the map feature, unable to get enough of how it shows every little road and hill around us. It makes using a paper map seem silly in comparison.

Link calls my name and when I look up he passes by me so quick I hardly even have time to register his face. I notice he's riding on something as my eyes follow him down the hill, gliding through the grass at a rapid speed. He's balancing well on whatever is below his feet, which gleams in the sun. I watch as he steers it left and right around bushes and shrubs, his arms held out on the sides of his body. He stops about a hundred and fifty feet below me and I watch as he grins back up me before picking up what I now can is see clearly is a shield.

Link jogs back up the hill and stops before me, panting. Holding up the shield with both hands, he asks me if I'd like to go next. I eye the old metal thing in his hands warily, noticing how it's severely rusted in more than a few spots.

"I don't know how to um..."

"Shield surf?"

I nod.

"I'll be happy to teach you if you'd like."

"Alright." I answer, feeling kind of nervous.

I watch and listen as Link demonstrates and explains the basics of shield surfing on a small slant of ground nearby the shade tree I was relaxing under. Before having me try it right away, he lets me get a feel for standing on the shield itself. I have trouble even balancing on it stationary, the slight curve of the metal plating uneven beneath my feet. I almost fall over before he puts his hands on my shoulders and helps me regain balance.

"This is a lot harder than it looks." I mutter.

"It's because of the size of the shield. If we had a bigger one it would probably be easier for you."

"I'm guessing you don't. "

"Nope. But I know you can do this anyway, Zel. Hmm..try to think of it like surfing in the ocean. All you have to do is keep yourself upright by balancing the shield under your feet."

I appreciate his analogy, but this feels completely different than standing on a surfboard. I try to see it from his perspective, but I'm only reminded of how Link never even managed to stand up on the surfboard he had while we were on the ocean. How does he know what it's really like? I'm about to point this out when I realize that doesn't matter. I take his advice and think about it. I guess it does make sense that I need the same type of balance to keep upright now. I lift my arms to my sides and use them to center my gravity and it helps. I ask Link to let go and I keep upright and steady.

There we go.

Link says that bending your knees helps when you're actually moving and I nod, telling him I'm ready to try. We move to a small hill nearby that is just a bit steeper than where we previously stood. He helps me get on the shield again and lets me go when I say to. The strange feeling and sound of the shield slidingacross the ground distracts me and I forget to stay focused on keeping upright. I only move a foot or two before I fall with a shriek and hit the ground roughly, rolling a few feet in the grass.

"Ow. Guess I wasn't ready." I say as Link helps me up. I brush myself off.

"Don't worry, my first attempt looked a lot like that, but a lot worse. I started on a much steeper hill and ended up rolling down it about twenty feet." Link says with a laugh.

I grimace imagining that and wonder if I'll end up having a hard wipe-out like that too. I hope not. Link's smile reassures me, however, and I retrieve the shield from the grass several feet away before telling him I'm going to keep trying no matter how many times I fall.

That ends up being a lot. I fall down over and over, but I get up and try again, and again...and again. I'm determined to get this down, I refuse to give up. Link gives me pointers as we go along and even if I'm sure I'll have at least a few bruises later, I still have fun. On my seventeenth attempt, I finally make it further than five feet and slide gracefully down the hill. Link calls after me and whoops, cheering me on and I laugh before I hit a rock I don't see coming and go tumbling to the ground with a scream. My feet fly over my head as I spin in the air before landing on my back so hard it knocks the breath out of me. I lay there gasping for air as tears form in my vision.

Link appears next to me then, kneeling down in the grass with concern plastered on his face. I close my eyes and groan putting my hands to my head. He asks me if I'm alright and I take a few breaths as my back screams at me from the impact. I meet his eyes and force a smile before a real giggle escapes my mouth instead and then burst out laughing. Link laughs too, nervously at first before and slowly helps me sit up. He checks me out for injury even if I tell him I'm completely fine. I watch him enjoying how serious he looks and I also find it sweet how he absolutely has to know for sure I didn't hurt myself.

"One more time. I'm sure I've got this now." I say, standing up with my hands on my hips. It takes me a few seconds to find the shield, which flew off twenty feet from my crash spot. I pull it out of the tall grass and brush it off before we walk back up the hill.

"I'm glad you're getting the hang of it. You're gonna need this skill later."

Oh? "I will? What for?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"Where? Is it nearby?

Link laughs. "I can't spoil that for you."

"Oh, come on. You can't just spring that on me like that then refuse to give me any information!"

"Sorry." He says, shrugging. I want to wipe the smirk off his face as I growl in frustration.

My last ride down the hill has some wobbles, but I keep myself up before I jump off the shield before I go into a tree. I hear the metal thud against it as I land in the grass. I don't know if I can say that's better, but at least I didn't crash. Link says I'm doing great and with more practice, I'll be a pro in no time.

After quite some time, we decide to take a break and walk uphill to where our horses stand grazing. Upon seeing them eat I feel hungry myself. I decide aloud that this afternoon, I'm going to go hunt us dinner and Link says "Go for it" as he sits down in the shade under the nearby tree. I grab my bow and weapons belt from our things and put them on. When I think about it, it's been a while since I last killed something. The last time I remember personally hunting for my own food was way back before I stopped in Hateno Village. Ever since then, I've been almost constantly eating inside taverns, inns, friends' houses, etc. But on the road, I realize the most prominent reason I haven't is because I've had Link around. He genuinely likes to go hunting, so I've honestly been letting him get our meat for meals ever since we started traveling together. In other words: I've been lazy. "Pre-Link Zelda" would be ashamed of me now. The girl who hunted and gathered all of her own food and cooked for herself. The girl who never depended on another soul to take care of her. That me has run off and vanished somewhere. I kind of miss her.

I have to walk quite far before I finally spot a group of herons in the grass ahead. I draw my bow and an arrow from my quiver as I slow my pace. I crouch down as I continue, light on my toes. Forty feet away I aim my shot and easily take down the heron nearest my location. The other two fly off in a rush as their buddy drops to the grass and I stand up. I clean my kill quickly before I turn around and start walking back to our camp.

I'm not even halfway back when I hear it; A wolf howl cutting through the peaceful air. I clutch the dead bird tightly by its legs as I quickly look around. What I see on my right causes me to drop it on the ground. Two wolves stand twenty feet from me, hunched down defensively, teeth snarling. I back up slowly, grabbing my bow from my back quickly with a shaky arm. My heart has leapt into my throat as I fish in my quiver for an arrow and it takes me three tries before I can grab the fletching of one. I don't get it half way to my bowstring before the first wolf lunges toward me. With better agility than I ever knew I had, I dive out of the way just in time and its teeth cut through the air where my shoulder was a moment ago. I roll over on the ground and stagger quickly to my feet, draw my bow on instinct or adrenaline, both maybe, and let my arrow fly right into my attacker's chest just as it lunges for me a second time.

I have just a moment's time to be relieved that I was faster before the second wolf starts closing in on me. I can't feel my fingers as I grab another arrow and fumble it in place, but I'm shaking so bad that I completely miss when I shoot. My arrow flies off course two feet to the right of wolf number two, who takes advantage of my mistake and jumps at me before I can even blink and I slam into the ground. Somehow, miraculously, my bow comes up right at the perfect angle to intercept the moment of my death and the wolf's teeth latch onto the upper limb of it instead of my throat. I scream as I shove it up into its maw with all of my strength, my heart pounding in my head as the wolf snarls and bites the wood between my hands, its paws pressing me down into the ground heavily, claws digging into my skin. The seconds seem to tick by in slow motion as I stare petrified up the seething beast, continuing to fight for my life until I feel my strength waning. A loud cracking noise cuts through the chaos of my screaming and the wolf's snarling and I see the wood of my bow cracking and splintering.

"No! Hylia please!" I plead out loud, shoving and kicking with newfound energy and desperation. My final moments drag out for an eternity before my bow finally shatters and the razor sharp teeth inches from my face descend upon me. I squeeze my eyes shut as I let out one last pathetic cry.

I hear a sharp, high pitched cry of pain and then the crushing weight on top of me suddenly vanishes. I snap my eyes open, roll over and push myself to my feet. I trip over my broken bow as I take my first frantic step and fall face first on the ground. I expect to be attacked again but it doesn't happen. Instead, I freeze on my hands and knees at the sight in front of me; unable to believe my eyes.

The black wolf that just had me pinned is now the one being viciously attacked by a much larger wolf with gray fur. My "savior" is almost twice the size as the one who almost just succeeded in taking my life. I watch for a long moment as they tear into each other in a mess of teeth and claws, blood, growling, snarling and painful cries. However, it's not really much of a fight, as the gray wolf seems to practically throw the other one around.

Zelda! What are you doing?! Get out of here while you have the chance! My conscious eventually screams at me. I snap out of my shock and force my shaking legs to lift me off the ground. I run away as fast as I possibly can, which seems a lot slower than I know I can run.

I get about fifty feet before I hear another howl. I risk a glance over my shoulder and see the black wolf lying on the ground, unmoving, and the gray one nowhere in sight. When I look back ahead of me and I shriek as the missing one appears right in front me. I dash to the right across the field opposite the direction of my destination: our camp. The wolf cuts me off and I skid to a halt before backing up quickly and thudding painfully into something. I reach my shaking hands behind me to find the unmistakable rough bark of a tree.

When I meet the eyes of the wolf before me, my body picks the worst possible moment to give up on me. Before now, I didn't believe it actually possible to be frozen in fear, but now I find that I literally cannot move. I can't run away. I can't try to save myself. All I can do is watch as the wolf closes the twenty feet gap between us, hunched down in a defensive stance, teeth and fur around its maw bloody from its previous fight. The closer it gets, the more I try to force my legs to move but instead they give out beneath me. I slide down the tree as I stare into the eyes of the large gray wolf now just barely ten feet away from where I now sit numb and shaking.

This is the end for me, isn't it?…

...I'm sorry Link. I'm sorry Tetra. I'm sorry mom, dad, everyone... I love you. I think as tears run my cheeks and the wolf lurks closer and closer. I squeeze my eyes shut so I don't have to watch as it leaps forward, sinks its teeth into me...I pray desperately that if I have to die, that it will be quick and painless.

It feels like an eternity as I sit there before I feel breath on my face and a quiet whimper leaves my lips. I feel myself shaking violently, my pulse pounds in the back of my head dangerously fast and my heart feels like it's about to explode.

I squeal as I feel something wet touch my right cheek and I jump and bang my head against the tree trunk. But I don't dare open my eyes, squeezing them shut even tighter. I then feel something incredibly soft rub against my face next and I peek through my eyelashes. I see the wolf's large muzzle inches from my face and I suck in a breath and press back into the tree harder, a whimper leaving my lips as I squeeze my eyes shut again and grit my teeth. I wait. Wait and wait and wait... then I jump out of my skin and shriek so loudly it hurts my own ears as I feel a sudden, slobbery wetness all the way up the left side of my face, chin to forehead. I open my eyes quickly to see the wolf's blue eyes looking at me from less than a foot away.

It...licked me?

I hardly have time to register that fact before the wolf throws me off guard again by moving and bumping its huge head against the side of my head, knocking me to the side. I catch myself on my right arm as I stare at it with complete disbelief, my eyes following its head down to its chest and down to its humongous paws. I then notice it's sitting on its hind quarters as its tail wags, just like a tamed dog. I continue to sit there in shock before the wolf licks my face again before letting out a low whine. A laugh bubbles up my chest and throat and leaves my lips before I know it. I smile and put my hands on the wolf's large head and its fur is so incredibly soft as I run my fingers through it.

I feel the rest of my trepidation fading away as the wolf seems to enjoy it as I pet it, rubbing it head against my hands, which boggles me even more. Then it hits me: he must belong to someone. It's the only possible explanation.

I clear my throat before I speak, soft fur between my fingers as I hold the wolf's head.

"Thank you. You saved my life."

The wolf gives me another very slobbery lick up my face in answer, this time from my chin, up my nose, and into my hair. I wipe it off with a "eeeuhh!" before I laugh again, my chest full of joy.

"You were never gonna hurt me, were you? Just who is your owner, huh?" I say between giggles as I scratch behind his ears, earning a happy whine as his tongue hangs out of his huge maw.

I keep rewarding the wolf with scratches and rubs for several more minutes before I stand up and brush off my clothes, which are covered in dirt. As I walk toward our camp across the field and up the long steep hillside we shield surfed down, I notice the wolf is following me about ten feet back. As I look at it, I worry about what will happen when Link sees it. I tell the wolf to go home, wherever that is, pointing back the way we came. But he doesn't seem to listen or understand, padding up to me and walking beside me instead. I sigh.

I make sure to walk in front of the wolf as I get nearer so when Link does draw his bow, as I know he will, he won't shoot immediately. I see him laying under the shade tree with his arms behind his head. I call his name thirty feet away feeling silly... as if it's going to make a difference when it comes to his reaction.

Link's PoV

I'm lying in the grass with my eyes closed as I hear Zelda calling my name. I stretch my arms over my head before I sit up. I'm about to welcome her back but when I see the disheveled look of her appearance I'm left gaping instead. I'm up on my feet within a second and running toward her. The shirt she's wearing is torn open in several places and her right arm is covered in blood. She has numerous other scratches and scrapes all over the rest of her body and she's covered in dirt head to toe. Her hair is pulled out and puffed up awkwardly on top of her head as well as over her shoulder, grass and twigs stuck in it everywhere. She looks to her side then all around her, mouth opening and closing slowly before she looks at me again.

"What...what happened to you?!" I exclaim, looking her over for serious injuries.

"I was attacked by a couple of wolves."

She both looks and sounds far too calm and casual as she says that that I stare at her dumbstruck for a second before I speak.

"What?! Did you kill them?"

"I killed one. The wolf who saved me took care of the other one. He was just here with me... but he's gone now." Zelda gestures beside her with her pointer finger before looking all around again.

"Saved you?" I ask, unable to keep the exasperated disbelief out of my voice.

Zelda nods excitedly. "Yes! I swear. A huge gray wolf came out of nowhere after the second wolf jumped me and tackled it. I thought he was going to kill me next and was so scared but... but he came up and licked my face and acted just like a regular dog! I still can't believe it! I thought he'd still be here because he was following me a minute ago. I thought when you noticed I was back you would shoot him or something but... he's gone!"

I stare at her, my brain trying to process what she's saying. The blood and dirt all over her makes sense now but the rescue part of her story I can't quite grasp. Zelda turns around and continues looking for the wolf and rambles on again about how it was just here beside her. I put my hand on her shoulder and ask her to turn around.

"You don't believe me, do you?" She says as I look over her bloody arm to find the scratch there has coagulated and isn't as bad as I thought.

"I-" Zelda's eyes change and her eyebrows and lips turn to a scowl as I hesitate. I continue quickly. "I believe you. I..it just sounds...crazy."

She sighs. "I know. If I wasn't there I'd be skeptical hearing this too."

Sitting down in the shade under the trees we've made camp next to, I listen as Zelda gives me all the details of her wolf attack. I bite the inside of my cheek as I help her clean and sanitize the several scratches she has, which apparently happened while she was pinned to the ground...I wish I had been there or heard her screams. But I was up here enjoying a relaxing nap in the grass instead. This is the second time she has almost lost her life since we started traveling together. It makes me wonder if my presence has somehow increased the chance of her being in peril...

"What?" Zelda asks me, her expression wary.

"Nothing. You're okay. That's all that matters."

"I thought I was going to die until he- the wolf, came along." She says softly, watching as I wrap a bandage around her right bicep.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"It's not your fault."

"No. But I should have gone instead. I know this region is crawling with wolves."

"But you would likely be dead now."

"I'd rather that than lose you."

She gazes up at me with a frown. "I wouldn't."

"I know."

We gaze at each other until Zelda looks down with a sigh then gets up. I sit there on the ground until she comes back all cleaned up with fresh clothes on and her hair brushed and fixed up.

"I need to go get my bow. Or what's left of it... I forgot it when I ran away and then I was pretty distracted by my unexpected savior. Oh...I also dropped our dinner on the ground somewhere, so we still need something to eat...sorry." She says biting her lip and looking at the ground. I stand up and lift her chin so she's looking at me.

"Zel, it's fine. I can get us something else to munch on. Come on, let's go get your bow." I say taking her hand.

"Okay."

We have to walk quite a ways before coming across the scene of her wolf attack. Two dead wolves lay on the ground, already being swarmed by insects. With the amount or fur and blood everywhere and it's not hard to tell there was quite a fight here. I can just imagine being in the middle of it. I push away the image of finding her laying here like one of these wolves and thank Hylia she made it out alive. Zelda picks up her bow with a heavy sigh. It's broken into two pieces, the two limbs of it held only together by the string. Small shards of wood litter the grass around where she retrieved it from.

"I guess I won't be using this anymore...I know it's stupid in comparison to almost dying right here today, but this is the bow I won the Golden Arrow with and now it's broken." She says sadly, as she grips it in her hands.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "It's not. I understand what it means to you."

She sighs. "Yeah...It's okay. If it weren't for freakish luck, I wouldn't be here now. This bow bought me time before my rescuer came. Better it than me."

"Definitely. We can get you a new bow, but we can't replace you. Nobody could."

"Or you." Zelda says before she hugs me tightly. "Don't worry. I'm alright and I'm not going anywhere." She says, her cheek against my neck. I pull her in tighter and we stand there for several minutes before she lets me go.

I hunt us another heron, which this area is plentiful of, before we head back to our camp for the evening. Zelda cooks it up with some herbs and diced apples in our portable cooking pot, which I've never thought to do. The apples actually give the meat a sweet flavor and I tell her how much I like it. She says she'd like to take credit for the recipe, but she actually read it in the cookbook she got in Zora's Domain. Either way, I still thank her for the meal.

While we put out the fire, I notice something out of the corner of my eye to the left. I see the tall grass on the hill north of us shift and I grab my bow from its place next to my saddlebag without taking my eyes off the spot.

"What is it?" Zelda asks.

"Hopefully nothing." I say as I walk slowly uphill. I get about ten feet before a giant gray wolf stands up. Just as I raise my bow Zelda runs up and throws herself between the beast and I.

"No!" She shouts. "It's him! The wolf who saved my life. Put your bow down!"

When I don't, she gives me a pleading look and grabs the limbs of my bow and forces me to lower it.

"Zel...how do you know it's the same one?"

"He's huge! Have you ever seen a wolf this big? It's definitely him! Trust me. He's not going to hurt us." She says with a smile before turning around and walking straight up to where the wolf stands waiting. The animal seems to get excited upon seeing her approach, padding up closer to her. Even if the posture and position of its body seems completely non-threatening, I lift my bow just enough that I'll be able to aim it quickly and shoot if needed. She might blindly and undoubtedly trust this wolf, but who's to say it won't attack her now? It is a wild animal after all...and one of most dangerous ones in the Akkala region at that.

The wolf takes its sight off Zelda when I take a step forward and looks right at me. I stare into its unusually bright blue eyes and take another step forward. Zelda notices the wolf looking behind her as well and she looks over her shoulder and glares at me.

"Link! I told you to put your bow down!" She snaps as she spins around to face me, arms out to her sides. Then in a calmer tone she adds on "Please. You trust me, right?"

"Of course." I respond, glancing back at the wolf behind her. The animal is now sitting and when it sees me looking it again, to my surprise it lies down and rests its head on its fore paws.

Zelda glances at the wolf over her shoulder before meeting my eyes again. "Then put your bow on the ground and come over here."

I tentatively do as she asks, my common sense arguing against the action but my trust in her telling me it's what I should do. I walk slowly up the hill and Zelda reaches for my hand when I'm five feet away. I take it and she leads me over to the strangely docile wolf laying on the ground before letting go.

"Hey there. I was wondering where you went. Did you go back home to your master?" She asks, kneeling down on her knee and the wolf looks at her. I keep my guard up and watch as Zelda reaches her hand out and the wolf lifts its huge head to meet her awaiting palm. She slides her hand back through his fur and scratches one of the lowered ears. It lets out a low whine enjoying that before rolling over and exposing its stomach to the air so she can rub its belly. She giggles as the wolf clearly enjoys the attention and I stare having trouble believing any of this even though I'm witnessing it with my own eyes.

I walk over slowly and kneel down next to her, not lowering my guard. The wolf's attention immediately goes to me and it rolls over and hunches down, but not in a defensive way. We watch each other for a solid ten seconds before I reach over to place my hand on its head. Zelda laughs when I quickly retract my arm with a surprised yell when the wolf unexpectedly licks my hand. I take a breath and reach out again when Zelda encourages me to do so and the animal bumps his head against my palm. I slide my fingers through his fur and the wolf leans into my hand, eyes rolling back and lets out a long sigh. I finally relax and let out a breath.

"See? He's alright. I owe this big, beautiful guy my life." Zelda says, looking at me with a smile. "Huh, just like you." She adds on with a giggle.

I give her a smirk before I answer seriously. "Honestly, I was having trouble believing you earlier, but now I can't deny the proof when it's right here in front of me.

"Trust me. I'm just as bewildered as you are. He really did follow me right up here then vanish suddenly when you sat up. Perhaps he could sense you would act negatively."

"Can you blame me? Anyone would react that way upon seeing a wild animal that could kill them in a heartbeat."

"Yeah...don't mind me, I'm just speaking hypocritically here. After all, I did think he was going to kill me earlier. I feel kinda bad about that now knowing he's just a tough protector. I don't know why he saved me though...I still can't wrap my head around it."

"Well, I'm damn glad he did come to your rescue."

I don't know what I would have done if I found her lying there in that field...likely a bloody, mangled sight. Like I said while we were Zora's Domain, she's everything to me. I wouldn't be me anymore if something happened to her.

"Me too. I wasn't ready to leave you. I...I said goodbye in my head with tears down my face before I closed my eyes, my body frozen. I was...I was so afraid." Zelda says quietly, gazing down at the wolf and petting him absently.

I take the hand she's petting the wolf with. Zelda looks at me and a tear runs down her cheek. I put my free hand on her face and kiss her.

"I'm beyond grateful you had someone, even a non-human someone, to protect you when I couldn't. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"You couldn't have known that would happen." She whispers looking in my eyes.

"Still. It's my job to keep you safe." I say gazing into her viridian eyes before I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer. "You're the one that I can't live without."

"You really are the most amazing person I have ever known."

"I love you, Zelda Bosphoramus." I say, purposely butchering the pronunciation of her last name. I get a snort and a laugh in return.

"I love y-" She starts, but the word cuts off in a squeal and she bumps her head roughly into my nose. We both look over at the wolf beside us, who has his huge muzzle in our personal space. He licks her arm -I guess for the second time, supposing that's what just startled her- and gazes at her with his tongue lolling out of his giant maw and Zelda laughs and lets go of me.

"Oh. You! Thank you for saving me." Zelda says wrapping her arms around the wolf's neck and rubbing her face in his fur.

"Yes. Thank you." I say, feeling ridiculous to be saying such a thing to a wolf, but meaning it with all of my being.

The wolf follows us enthusiastically down to our camp and both of our horses rear up and let our snorts. Apparently the show uphill did nothing to calm their senses. Epona settles down after I soothe her, but Starlett runs off when the wolf comes within fifteen feet from her. Zelda tries to calm her horse down but her white steed won't have it, stomping and making clearly disgruntled sounds. Zelda sighs and rubs her forehead as she walks back over, leaving her horse alone.

"Seems I've created some trust issues."

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll forgive you."

"...I hope so."

Zelda's PoV

I wasn't expecting my wolfy savior to show up again today. I'm glad the meeting between him and Link went a thousand times better than I imagined it was going to earlier. Seems the wolf vanishing right at that moment was actually a blessing. I probably wouldn't have been able to prevent Link from shooting said wolf when I returned to camp all covered in blood and dirt...I don't know how I didn't notice how much of a mess I was until I saw Link freaking out when he saw me. I seriously must have been extraordinarily distracted by all the fear, shock and surprise I experienced.

Since it's a nice, clear sky tonight we decide make camp under the stars. I set up my hammock between the two trees we've made camp at and Link lays out his sleeping bag close by. I offer to let him sleep in mid-air, feeling bad about only one of us being able to, but he insists it's fine. He even goes to cheesy land again and tells me that "his princess" deserves a comfortable nights sleep of not getting stabbed at by the rocky ground, especially after the day I've had. I let my hair down and shoot my hair tie at him, rolling my eyes and he gives me a grin in response.

I expect the wolf to go home to whoever his master is, but he lies down between my hammock and Link's sleeping bag as a big furball of fluff. I wonder why he's staying with us at all. I smile to myself as for some reason, the image of waking up to Link cuddled up to our new friend in the morning paints itself into my mind.

"Nighty night, Linky." I say with a yawn, calling him by the nickname I know he hates.

I hear him sigh loudly in response and I look down over the side of my hammock to see him looking at me. I give him a big grin and blow him a kiss in the dark before I lie back again. A few seconds later I smile as I hear him call me Tetra's dorky name for me.

"Good night, Zelly."