The Lone Wolf
Epilogue
It was the end of the second winter since Link had left Hyrule. So far, Rauru and the
Deku tree sprout's prophecies had held up, as there hadn't been any trouble in Hyrule
short of a daylight pick pocketing.
It was about noontime, and Navi and Tatyl were flying through the forest at high speed.
They were heading towards the forest temple to see Saria.
Navi giggled merrily as Tatyl chased after her.
"C'mon slow poke! We want to meet up with Saria before we get to the Deku tree's
meadow!" she called back to Tatyl.
Tatyl, out of breath, was flying lower and slower than Navi.
"*pant* I don't... *pant* see why we… *pant* have to go to... *pant* all the Temples...
*pant* before hand…" Tatyl stopped on a tree branch and Navi stopped and went back to
her.
Tatyl breathed hard. "Couldn't you have just asked Zelda to tell all of them?" she
asked.
Navi looked at her oddly. "Now where's the fun in that?" She asked.
Tatyl breathed for a minute till he regained her breath. "I could have had an easier time
of it you know! It was hard enough keeping up with Link On Epona as a kid... I don't see
where you get all this energy!" she exclaimed.
Navi giggled. "I worked out chasing Link all over the place on that horse! Our quest
took weeks, not three days, for you at least Tatyl!" she answered.
Tatyl rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?" her said.
Navi hopped off the branch and hovered. "Come on, if we don't hurry now, we'll get to
the meadow too late!"
Tatyl sighed and took off again, flying faster since she'd caught her breath.
* * * *
Saria was sitting on the tree stump in front of the Forest temple, playing her song as
always when Navi and Tatl flew up the staircase, and Tatl started energetically flying
circles around Saria's head while Navi hovered calmly in front of Saria.
"C'mon Saria, we want to get to the Deku Tree's Meadow in a few minutes! C'mon!"
Saria stopped playing. "The barrier is coming down today? I'd almost forgot!" she
said, and pocketed her wooden Ocarina."
"Well, C'mon! Let's get going!" Navi said anxiously.
Saria giggled. "Calm down Navi, I'll teleport us there, now get in my pockets you two."
she said.
"Your pockets?" Navi asked.
"Yes my pockets, I Don't have a stocking cap that you can hide under like Link did!"
Saria explained.
Tatyl shrugged and got in Saria's right pocket, a second later, Navi did the same in
Saria's left pocket.
* * * *
Saria appeared in the Deku tree's meadow about a second later. There she saw Zelda,
Darunia and Nabooru, but of Ruto and Impa, there was no sign.
Hey, you guys, where's Ruto, and Impa?" Saria asked them as she jogged over to the
group.
Zelda shrugged. "I invited Ruto to come, but she said she better not, but that's her
decision. As for Impa, she's running the castle for me while I'm gone."
Saria pondered that, but shook her head. "Whatever, hey, sprout, is the barrier down
yet?" she asked the sprout.
The sprout had grown quite a bit, it now was about two and a half times it's original
size, it's trunk was straight and cylindrical, and had a small canopy of light green colored
leaves above it's slightly more mature looking face (?).
"What a time to ask! Only a few seconds my friends, and I'll finish removing it!" he
exclaimed.
Out of nowhere, an earth tremor began to shake the ground, the Sages looked around in
shock.
"What's happening?" Darunia yelled out.
"You'll see in a moment!" the Sprout replied.
Suddenly, the dead, grayed great Deku tree seemed to shatter into a thousand large
fragments, and they hit the ground and then shattered again, and again till the pieces of
the tree was nothing more than sawdust. Then the ground in the meadow began to sprout
flowers and small saplings all around.
"What was that for Sprout?" Nabooru asked shocked.
"Oh, just cleaning house while I had the energy." He said.
"Huh?" they all asked, stumped.
"Hee hee! Well, let's just say it was getting tough to keep growing when the old guy's
body was blocking my roots. So while I had enough energy summoned to take down my
own barrier, I found I had enough left over to clear him away. No disrespect, mind you,
but if you guys want a new 'Great Deku Tree', he had to go. But if you'd check, the
barrier's gone as well!" The Deku sprout explained.
The sages checked, and found the power barrier was indeed gone.
"So we can go and see Link now?" Navi asked from Saria's pocket.
"Oh yeah, sure, go on you guys, get out of here! But you should try to get back to
Hyrule, say, in about two days, ok?"
Nabooru rolled her eyes. "Whatever Sprout, we're only planning on one day anyway."
She said, shot off in an orange comet, and was soon followed by the other gathered sages,
who went flying after her.
* * * *
Meanwhile, deep in the black forest wastes, Link was out side of his new home, taking
up one of his hobbies, amateur carpentry.
He'd made a few pieces of furniture for the Cave he and rose shared, along with their
children.
Six months after he'd returned to her, Rose had given birth to an adorable little white
and black female wolf pup that they had named Achela. Achela's back, the back and top
of her head, legs, arms and tail were black, while the rest of her, her belly, the front of her
legs and arms, and her face and muzzle were white. Her eyes were a dark forest green
color, and usually sparkled happily.
Also, at the following winter festival, Rose had once again gotten pregnant, this time
with Link's conscious, un-influenced (under drink or otherwise) consent. And the
following spring, she'd had twins; a black furred male pup named Teek, and a white
furred female named Koona. The twins were about 6 months old now, while Achela was
a year and a half old.
Rose was probably gathering herbs near the cave as she'd already gone hunting the
other day with Link, and they still had a lot of fresh meat too cook (Link insisted that the
meat be cooked first, and usually they made a stew from the venison or mutton that they
brought in). The twins would be napping, as usual. And Achela was chasing butterflies
within her father's hearing range.
At the moment, Link was carving a simple, three-legged stool. He'd already made a
large bed for himself and Rose, a smaller bed for Achela, and one for the twins, a table
and a number of shelves that he'd set into the stone wall with a wooden mallet and pick.
Rose used the shelves for storing her healing herbs and dried meats and fruit when they
didn't need them.
Link was about to put the pegs into the stool when he heard a small yelp of pain from
behind him. He dropped his work and dashed to the source find out what was wrong.
He found Achela on her knees whining softly, behind her was a patch of slippery moss.
Link shook his head and picked his daughter up.
"Hey there, you slip little one?" he said, nuzzling her tiny muzzle.
Achela pointed to her left knee, where the fur was a little scuffed up.
"Did you bang your knee?" he asked. Achela nodded.
Link put her down on the ground and rubbed her bruised knee. "You have to be more
careful when you play around here, the moss is easy to slip on, and there's lots of little
rocks around here, ok?"
Achela nodded. "Yes dada." She replied.
Link nuzzled her. "I'm almost finished here, we can go back home in a few minutes,
ok?"
Achela nodded, and followed Link back to his workplace, a clear spot in the woods with
a tree stump that he used as a surface when he carved.
Within a minute, Link had put the pegs into the stool, and packing his carving knife into
a pouch.
"Ok Achela, we can go now." He called to his daughter, who was now sitting patiently
on a small boulder.
She hopped off her seat and dashed over to take her father's paw, and she tugged on it to
get him moving.
Link chuckled a bit, put the stool on the ground for a moment, and picked her up and put
her on his shoulders.
"Now you hold on up there!" he said.
Achela giggled and took a firm grip by taking handfuls of Link's neck ruff.
Link smiled, picked up the stool, and started walking back to the cave.
* * * *
About halfway back to the cave, Achela looked around and glanced up into the sky
behind them, and saw the most fantastic sight she'd seen in her young life.
"Dada, look! Shooting stars!" she squealed.
Link turned and looked to the sky, there, a number of colored balls of light were flying
toward them, and started to descend towards them.
Link smiled enormously. "Well what do you know?" he said.
Achela looked down at him, confused.
Link put the freshly carved stool on the ground, and then put Achela on the ground as
well.
The balls of light landed, and revealed Zelda, Nabooru, Saria and Darunia.
Saria was the first to say anything.
"Hello Link!" she called.
Link laughed. "Hello you all! What brings you all here?" he asked.
Saria dashed up to Link and took his paw.
"We've been wanting to visit you for a long time, The Deku Sprout let us come through
just today!"
"Really? Well... Wow. I didn't expect all of you to just show up all of a sudden!"
All the other sages came forward and greeted Link in their own fashion.
"Hello Link, how's it been with the wolf woman? I still think you'd have liked it with
me in the desert." Nabooru said, winking at him.
"Uh, hello to you too Nabooru." Link replied.
Zelda threw her arms around Links neck and gave him a warm hug in greeting.
"You look healthy still. Good game in these parts Link?" Zelda asked.
Link laughed. "Oh yeah. But usually Rose does the hunting when she can, I usually
carve."
"Carve?" Zelda asked.
Link picked up the stool. "I work as an amateur carpenter. Rose's cave needed a lot of
work when I got there!"
Darunia laughed at this. "Well, you're still looking stronger than ever Brother, has life
here been tough?" the huge Goron asked, placing his massive hand on Link's shoulder.
"You're a father, and you have to ask me that Darunia?" Link replied.
Zelda laughed. "Speaking of which, is your... 'pup…' around?" she asked, unsure of
what to refer to a wolf child as.
Link glanced behind him to a small bush, where Achela was hiding.
"Actually... yes." He turned around and gestured to her.
"Achela, come here little one!" He called.
Achela looked apprehensively at the Sages, then shook her head, her thumb in her
mouth.
Link sighed. "There's nothing to worry about Achela, they're friends, they won't hurt
you, I swear, now please come out." He called.
Achela stepped out a little ways from the bush, her tail tight between her legs, her thumb
in her mouth and her other hand behind her back. Link gestured for her to come to him,
and she slowly came to him at first, but then she broke into a small run till she got to her
father.
Link took Achela into an embrace and hefted her up till her saw holding her in the crook
of one arm. There, the little pup held tightly to Link's chest fur, she was still quite scared
of the strange people.
Zelda, Nabooru and Saria gave a small gasp in unison.
"Oh my goodness, Link, she's absolutely adorable!" Zelda exclaimed, reaching out to
touch Achela on the head, but the pup whined loudly in fear and held herself closer to
Link's chest.
Zelda stopped, stunned. "She's afraid of us..." she said.
Link stroked Achela's head fur. "She's only ever seen other wolves. She's not sure
what to make of you guys. I wouldn't rush it Zelda. You'll just scare her worse." Link
said as Achela calmed down.
Suddenly, Navi and Tatyl, who had fallen asleep during the ten-minute flight from
Hyrule, zipped out of Saria's pockets and flew about the group.
"Hey! We fell asleep! Why didn't you wake us up Saria?" Tatl asked.
"Yeah! We could have missed something important! Hey, is that pup Link's?" Navi
asked.
Achela, who had calmed down considerably since Zelda had tried to touch her, looked
at the two fairies in awe. She let go of her father's chest fur with her right paw and
leaned out to try to catch one of the two.
Navi narrowly missed being snatched. "Hey! I'm not a firefly!" she exclaimed angrily
in her tiny voice.
Achela giggled and tried again, this time for Tatyl.
"Whoah! So, you wanna play?" She asked, and started flying around in a pattern just
outside of Achela's reach, and the pup giggled as she watched the winged glowing
creature fly around crazily.
Zelda again attempted to pet Achela on the head, but this time the pup looked over at
her, smiled, and licked Zelda's palm.
Saria laughed. "Look's like she doesn't mind us anymore Zelda!" And they all
laughed.
"Hey, Link, is your home nearby?" Nabooru asked.
"Yes, I think Rose should be there with the Twins now."
The sages looked at Link oddly. "Twins?"
Nabooru shook her head. "What, did she get you with that wine again Link?"
Link shook his head. "No, she asked me, and I decided to give Achela here a few
siblings as playmates." He answered, giving his daughter a little bounce in his arms, she
giggled.
Zelda nodded. "As long as she didn't trick you again Link, that's all we care about."
she answered.
Link nodded. "Well, come on, it's not too far, but keep quiet, the twins are usually
asleep by this time of day." He said, picked up the stool again, and led the sages off.
* * * *
After a few minutes, Link and the group got back to the cave. A wooden door was
closed over the entrance.
"So, you live here now?" Saria asked.
"Yes. It's not much, but it's a happy home." He said, and let Achela down on the
ground.
Achela dashed to the door, opened it, and ran inside. A few moments later, she
reappeared, pulling her mother out the door.
"Ok, ok Achela, I heard you, now who're these guests you-" Rose stopped short when
she saw the sages. "Oh god..." she gasped, her paw going to her mouth.
"It's ok Rose, they're not here to take me back, just a friendly visit!" Link explained.
Rose looked warily at the group. "Alright, I guess we'll be having them with us for
dinner then?" She asked, looking the group over.
Link looked back at them. "You guy's hungry?"
Zelda, Saria and Nabooru shook their heads. "We're fine."
Darunia chuckled. "I'm always hungry."
The sages, Navi and Tatyl all glared at Darunia, and Rose looked appalled.
"I... I don't know if we have enough meat for somebody like you sir..."
Darunia laughed. "I'm a Goron, I don't eat meat of plants, I eat rocks!" He pulled a
sirloin rock out of a pouch and popped it into his mouth, chewed for a minute, and
swallowed easily. "See?"
Achela suddenly started laughing uproariously. She was rolling around on the grass
laughing while everybody looked at her confused.
"Ma... *HEHEHEHE* Mama had a funny look on her... *hehehehahaha*!" She
exclaimed.
Rose had a look of astonishment on her face, and it was the situation that had set Achela
off.
Suddenly, everybody, including Rose, burst out laughing.
Once they all ceased with their mirth, everybody went into the cave. Zelda and
Nabooru sat at the table, Darunia sat near the doorway, and Link helped Rose with the
meal she was cooking.
"You guys wait for a few minutes and well have dinner ready." Link told them.
Saria looked around the cave, and something tugged on her skirt. She turned around
and looked down to see Achela (who is about almost a third as tall as Saria at this point)
standing there.
"You wanna see my brother and sister?" she asked.
Saria looked at Link and Rose, who were right now talking to the two sages seated at the
table, and shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" she said.
Achela led her over to a second room that had been hollowed out of the cave. In there
was a small bed with high rising sides. Saria walked over to the side of the bed and
looked down into it.
The twin pups were even smaller than Achela.
Saria almost squealed in delight, but she stopped herself in time.
"No, I don't want to wake them." She thought.
"Achela, let's go back to your mom and dad now, ok?"
Achela nodded, and returned with Saria to the main room.
* * * *
After that, Zelda and Nabooru ate lightly, as they didn't want to impose, but when
Achela touched the hot stew and burned her paw, not only did Rose and Link rush to see
what was wrong, but so did Zelda.
"What's wrong?" Zelda asked.
Achela was holding her paw in her mouth. And resisted when Link tried to get her to
take it out.
"If only we had some snow!" Link muttered.
Suddenly Darunia looked up and towards the door.
"I think you might just get that wish Link." He said, and opened the door. And a ball of
blue light landed in the doorway.
"Ruto?" Link said.
Ruto looked at Link and smiled. "Did I hear somebody ask for ice?" she said, and in her
hand formed a ball of snow, which she tossed to Link.
Link managed to catch it without crushing it, and got Achela to take her paw out of her
mouth and stick it in the snow. And she stopped feeling the pain from the slight burn.
When the snowball started to glow, Achela jerked her paw from the snow, with not a
mark on it.
Zelda looked closely at the pup's paw.
"Been practicing Ruto?" Nabooru commented.
"Thanks Ruto, that was a nasty little burn. That stew was very hot, it could have done a
lot of damage to a young girl's hand." Link said.
Zelda couldn't take her eyes off Achela's paw.
Rose sighed, relieved. "I was really worried there. Thank you."
Ruto gave Rose a little glare. But she shrugged.
Saria looked at Zelda. "Hey Zelda, what's wrong?" she asked.
Everybody looked at Zelda. "What, did I forget something?" Ruto asked.
Zelda shook her head, and she held up Achela's paw towards them, and outlined on the
back of it with her fingernail, a vague image of a triple triangle in the fur. "There's a
Triforce Symbol on this pup's left paw!" Zelda exclaimed.
Everybody gasped. Except for Rose and Achela, they were just confused.
"Is that bad?" Rose asked.
Zelda looked at Link. "We need to talk." She said, and nodded at the other sages to calm
down Rose, who was suddenly alarmed at the reaction the sages and Link had had to
Zelda's finding.
Link then took Zelda outside the cave.
"What's the matter? I never gave that patch of fur any thought before, she seemed
completely normal!" Link said.
"Link, that pup was conceived BEFORE you gave up the Triforce, right?" she asked.
Link shrugged. "Yeah, so?" he asked confused.
"She's inherited a bit of the Triforce's essence from you Link!"
Link looked at Zelda. "And this means what?"
"It means that you're going to have to keep a really close eye on her by the time she gets
to be about ten. The Triforce of courage's power seeks out evil and tries to destroy it,
and she'll do just that if you don't stop her. Heck, she might even get killed doing it!"
Zelda explained.
Link looked at her stunned. "Well... What should I do? I can't watch her all her life!"
Zelda looked back at the cave. "I think we might need the fairies help on this one." She
said.
"Huh?" Link said.
Zelda looked back at Link, and Link could see that she was thinking at light speed
trying to make some kind of solution to this new problem.
"I tell you what Link, keep the two fairies here, tell them to keep an eye on your
daughter from now on. That way she'll have somebody there to keep an eye on her. But
the day she start's to act a little mature for her age, trying to be a warrior and all, send her
to me. She'll want to go off wandering, even at her age, but I want to at least guide her,
so she won't destroy herself."
Link stared at Zelda. "Send her to you? In Hyrule? All the people there will try to kill
her!" He said.
"Not if we cast this." she said, and took out a scroll.
Link looked at the scroll. "What's that?"
"It's a spell that will lighten the curse here in this land. You and the wolves will be able
to communicate in our language, Hylian. That way, she'll be seen as a member of a race
allied to Hyrule, like the Zoras, Gerudo and Gorons."
Link stared at Zelda for a minute before...
"Zelda, how do you do it?"
Zelda smiled. "I do have the Triforce of wisdom Link."
Link grumbled and crossed his arms. "That golden Triangle has caused me nothing but
problems..." Link muttered.
"And the last one it's likely to cause you is a very spirited Daughter." Zelda chided.
"Now come on, your mate is likely to have gotten worried." Zelda said.
Link shook his head. "Fine, but I'll still be the one stuck telling her about what really
happened when she goes off to you one day."
Zelda giggled. "Well, like father, like daughter. You had everyone worried when you
were going adventuring in Termina, so why should she be any different?" Zelda asked.
Link looked back at her, and laughed.
The End.
Epilogue
It was the end of the second winter since Link had left Hyrule. So far, Rauru and the
Deku tree sprout's prophecies had held up, as there hadn't been any trouble in Hyrule
short of a daylight pick pocketing.
It was about noontime, and Navi and Tatyl were flying through the forest at high speed.
They were heading towards the forest temple to see Saria.
Navi giggled merrily as Tatyl chased after her.
"C'mon slow poke! We want to meet up with Saria before we get to the Deku tree's
meadow!" she called back to Tatyl.
Tatyl, out of breath, was flying lower and slower than Navi.
"*pant* I don't... *pant* see why we… *pant* have to go to... *pant* all the Temples...
*pant* before hand…" Tatyl stopped on a tree branch and Navi stopped and went back to
her.
Tatyl breathed hard. "Couldn't you have just asked Zelda to tell all of them?" she
asked.
Navi looked at her oddly. "Now where's the fun in that?" She asked.
Tatyl breathed for a minute till he regained her breath. "I could have had an easier time
of it you know! It was hard enough keeping up with Link On Epona as a kid... I don't see
where you get all this energy!" she exclaimed.
Navi giggled. "I worked out chasing Link all over the place on that horse! Our quest
took weeks, not three days, for you at least Tatyl!" she answered.
Tatyl rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?" her said.
Navi hopped off the branch and hovered. "Come on, if we don't hurry now, we'll get to
the meadow too late!"
Tatyl sighed and took off again, flying faster since she'd caught her breath.
* * * *
Saria was sitting on the tree stump in front of the Forest temple, playing her song as
always when Navi and Tatl flew up the staircase, and Tatl started energetically flying
circles around Saria's head while Navi hovered calmly in front of Saria.
"C'mon Saria, we want to get to the Deku Tree's Meadow in a few minutes! C'mon!"
Saria stopped playing. "The barrier is coming down today? I'd almost forgot!" she
said, and pocketed her wooden Ocarina."
"Well, C'mon! Let's get going!" Navi said anxiously.
Saria giggled. "Calm down Navi, I'll teleport us there, now get in my pockets you two."
she said.
"Your pockets?" Navi asked.
"Yes my pockets, I Don't have a stocking cap that you can hide under like Link did!"
Saria explained.
Tatyl shrugged and got in Saria's right pocket, a second later, Navi did the same in
Saria's left pocket.
* * * *
Saria appeared in the Deku tree's meadow about a second later. There she saw Zelda,
Darunia and Nabooru, but of Ruto and Impa, there was no sign.
Hey, you guys, where's Ruto, and Impa?" Saria asked them as she jogged over to the
group.
Zelda shrugged. "I invited Ruto to come, but she said she better not, but that's her
decision. As for Impa, she's running the castle for me while I'm gone."
Saria pondered that, but shook her head. "Whatever, hey, sprout, is the barrier down
yet?" she asked the sprout.
The sprout had grown quite a bit, it now was about two and a half times it's original
size, it's trunk was straight and cylindrical, and had a small canopy of light green colored
leaves above it's slightly more mature looking face (?).
"What a time to ask! Only a few seconds my friends, and I'll finish removing it!" he
exclaimed.
Out of nowhere, an earth tremor began to shake the ground, the Sages looked around in
shock.
"What's happening?" Darunia yelled out.
"You'll see in a moment!" the Sprout replied.
Suddenly, the dead, grayed great Deku tree seemed to shatter into a thousand large
fragments, and they hit the ground and then shattered again, and again till the pieces of
the tree was nothing more than sawdust. Then the ground in the meadow began to sprout
flowers and small saplings all around.
"What was that for Sprout?" Nabooru asked shocked.
"Oh, just cleaning house while I had the energy." He said.
"Huh?" they all asked, stumped.
"Hee hee! Well, let's just say it was getting tough to keep growing when the old guy's
body was blocking my roots. So while I had enough energy summoned to take down my
own barrier, I found I had enough left over to clear him away. No disrespect, mind you,
but if you guys want a new 'Great Deku Tree', he had to go. But if you'd check, the
barrier's gone as well!" The Deku sprout explained.
The sages checked, and found the power barrier was indeed gone.
"So we can go and see Link now?" Navi asked from Saria's pocket.
"Oh yeah, sure, go on you guys, get out of here! But you should try to get back to
Hyrule, say, in about two days, ok?"
Nabooru rolled her eyes. "Whatever Sprout, we're only planning on one day anyway."
She said, shot off in an orange comet, and was soon followed by the other gathered sages,
who went flying after her.
* * * *
Meanwhile, deep in the black forest wastes, Link was out side of his new home, taking
up one of his hobbies, amateur carpentry.
He'd made a few pieces of furniture for the Cave he and rose shared, along with their
children.
Six months after he'd returned to her, Rose had given birth to an adorable little white
and black female wolf pup that they had named Achela. Achela's back, the back and top
of her head, legs, arms and tail were black, while the rest of her, her belly, the front of her
legs and arms, and her face and muzzle were white. Her eyes were a dark forest green
color, and usually sparkled happily.
Also, at the following winter festival, Rose had once again gotten pregnant, this time
with Link's conscious, un-influenced (under drink or otherwise) consent. And the
following spring, she'd had twins; a black furred male pup named Teek, and a white
furred female named Koona. The twins were about 6 months old now, while Achela was
a year and a half old.
Rose was probably gathering herbs near the cave as she'd already gone hunting the
other day with Link, and they still had a lot of fresh meat too cook (Link insisted that the
meat be cooked first, and usually they made a stew from the venison or mutton that they
brought in). The twins would be napping, as usual. And Achela was chasing butterflies
within her father's hearing range.
At the moment, Link was carving a simple, three-legged stool. He'd already made a
large bed for himself and Rose, a smaller bed for Achela, and one for the twins, a table
and a number of shelves that he'd set into the stone wall with a wooden mallet and pick.
Rose used the shelves for storing her healing herbs and dried meats and fruit when they
didn't need them.
Link was about to put the pegs into the stool when he heard a small yelp of pain from
behind him. He dropped his work and dashed to the source find out what was wrong.
He found Achela on her knees whining softly, behind her was a patch of slippery moss.
Link shook his head and picked his daughter up.
"Hey there, you slip little one?" he said, nuzzling her tiny muzzle.
Achela pointed to her left knee, where the fur was a little scuffed up.
"Did you bang your knee?" he asked. Achela nodded.
Link put her down on the ground and rubbed her bruised knee. "You have to be more
careful when you play around here, the moss is easy to slip on, and there's lots of little
rocks around here, ok?"
Achela nodded. "Yes dada." She replied.
Link nuzzled her. "I'm almost finished here, we can go back home in a few minutes,
ok?"
Achela nodded, and followed Link back to his workplace, a clear spot in the woods with
a tree stump that he used as a surface when he carved.
Within a minute, Link had put the pegs into the stool, and packing his carving knife into
a pouch.
"Ok Achela, we can go now." He called to his daughter, who was now sitting patiently
on a small boulder.
She hopped off her seat and dashed over to take her father's paw, and she tugged on it to
get him moving.
Link chuckled a bit, put the stool on the ground for a moment, and picked her up and put
her on his shoulders.
"Now you hold on up there!" he said.
Achela giggled and took a firm grip by taking handfuls of Link's neck ruff.
Link smiled, picked up the stool, and started walking back to the cave.
* * * *
About halfway back to the cave, Achela looked around and glanced up into the sky
behind them, and saw the most fantastic sight she'd seen in her young life.
"Dada, look! Shooting stars!" she squealed.
Link turned and looked to the sky, there, a number of colored balls of light were flying
toward them, and started to descend towards them.
Link smiled enormously. "Well what do you know?" he said.
Achela looked down at him, confused.
Link put the freshly carved stool on the ground, and then put Achela on the ground as
well.
The balls of light landed, and revealed Zelda, Nabooru, Saria and Darunia.
Saria was the first to say anything.
"Hello Link!" she called.
Link laughed. "Hello you all! What brings you all here?" he asked.
Saria dashed up to Link and took his paw.
"We've been wanting to visit you for a long time, The Deku Sprout let us come through
just today!"
"Really? Well... Wow. I didn't expect all of you to just show up all of a sudden!"
All the other sages came forward and greeted Link in their own fashion.
"Hello Link, how's it been with the wolf woman? I still think you'd have liked it with
me in the desert." Nabooru said, winking at him.
"Uh, hello to you too Nabooru." Link replied.
Zelda threw her arms around Links neck and gave him a warm hug in greeting.
"You look healthy still. Good game in these parts Link?" Zelda asked.
Link laughed. "Oh yeah. But usually Rose does the hunting when she can, I usually
carve."
"Carve?" Zelda asked.
Link picked up the stool. "I work as an amateur carpenter. Rose's cave needed a lot of
work when I got there!"
Darunia laughed at this. "Well, you're still looking stronger than ever Brother, has life
here been tough?" the huge Goron asked, placing his massive hand on Link's shoulder.
"You're a father, and you have to ask me that Darunia?" Link replied.
Zelda laughed. "Speaking of which, is your... 'pup…' around?" she asked, unsure of
what to refer to a wolf child as.
Link glanced behind him to a small bush, where Achela was hiding.
"Actually... yes." He turned around and gestured to her.
"Achela, come here little one!" He called.
Achela looked apprehensively at the Sages, then shook her head, her thumb in her
mouth.
Link sighed. "There's nothing to worry about Achela, they're friends, they won't hurt
you, I swear, now please come out." He called.
Achela stepped out a little ways from the bush, her tail tight between her legs, her thumb
in her mouth and her other hand behind her back. Link gestured for her to come to him,
and she slowly came to him at first, but then she broke into a small run till she got to her
father.
Link took Achela into an embrace and hefted her up till her saw holding her in the crook
of one arm. There, the little pup held tightly to Link's chest fur, she was still quite scared
of the strange people.
Zelda, Nabooru and Saria gave a small gasp in unison.
"Oh my goodness, Link, she's absolutely adorable!" Zelda exclaimed, reaching out to
touch Achela on the head, but the pup whined loudly in fear and held herself closer to
Link's chest.
Zelda stopped, stunned. "She's afraid of us..." she said.
Link stroked Achela's head fur. "She's only ever seen other wolves. She's not sure
what to make of you guys. I wouldn't rush it Zelda. You'll just scare her worse." Link
said as Achela calmed down.
Suddenly, Navi and Tatyl, who had fallen asleep during the ten-minute flight from
Hyrule, zipped out of Saria's pockets and flew about the group.
"Hey! We fell asleep! Why didn't you wake us up Saria?" Tatl asked.
"Yeah! We could have missed something important! Hey, is that pup Link's?" Navi
asked.
Achela, who had calmed down considerably since Zelda had tried to touch her, looked
at the two fairies in awe. She let go of her father's chest fur with her right paw and
leaned out to try to catch one of the two.
Navi narrowly missed being snatched. "Hey! I'm not a firefly!" she exclaimed angrily
in her tiny voice.
Achela giggled and tried again, this time for Tatyl.
"Whoah! So, you wanna play?" She asked, and started flying around in a pattern just
outside of Achela's reach, and the pup giggled as she watched the winged glowing
creature fly around crazily.
Zelda again attempted to pet Achela on the head, but this time the pup looked over at
her, smiled, and licked Zelda's palm.
Saria laughed. "Look's like she doesn't mind us anymore Zelda!" And they all
laughed.
"Hey, Link, is your home nearby?" Nabooru asked.
"Yes, I think Rose should be there with the Twins now."
The sages looked at Link oddly. "Twins?"
Nabooru shook her head. "What, did she get you with that wine again Link?"
Link shook his head. "No, she asked me, and I decided to give Achela here a few
siblings as playmates." He answered, giving his daughter a little bounce in his arms, she
giggled.
Zelda nodded. "As long as she didn't trick you again Link, that's all we care about."
she answered.
Link nodded. "Well, come on, it's not too far, but keep quiet, the twins are usually
asleep by this time of day." He said, picked up the stool again, and led the sages off.
* * * *
After a few minutes, Link and the group got back to the cave. A wooden door was
closed over the entrance.
"So, you live here now?" Saria asked.
"Yes. It's not much, but it's a happy home." He said, and let Achela down on the
ground.
Achela dashed to the door, opened it, and ran inside. A few moments later, she
reappeared, pulling her mother out the door.
"Ok, ok Achela, I heard you, now who're these guests you-" Rose stopped short when
she saw the sages. "Oh god..." she gasped, her paw going to her mouth.
"It's ok Rose, they're not here to take me back, just a friendly visit!" Link explained.
Rose looked warily at the group. "Alright, I guess we'll be having them with us for
dinner then?" She asked, looking the group over.
Link looked back at them. "You guy's hungry?"
Zelda, Saria and Nabooru shook their heads. "We're fine."
Darunia chuckled. "I'm always hungry."
The sages, Navi and Tatyl all glared at Darunia, and Rose looked appalled.
"I... I don't know if we have enough meat for somebody like you sir..."
Darunia laughed. "I'm a Goron, I don't eat meat of plants, I eat rocks!" He pulled a
sirloin rock out of a pouch and popped it into his mouth, chewed for a minute, and
swallowed easily. "See?"
Achela suddenly started laughing uproariously. She was rolling around on the grass
laughing while everybody looked at her confused.
"Ma... *HEHEHEHE* Mama had a funny look on her... *hehehehahaha*!" She
exclaimed.
Rose had a look of astonishment on her face, and it was the situation that had set Achela
off.
Suddenly, everybody, including Rose, burst out laughing.
Once they all ceased with their mirth, everybody went into the cave. Zelda and
Nabooru sat at the table, Darunia sat near the doorway, and Link helped Rose with the
meal she was cooking.
"You guys wait for a few minutes and well have dinner ready." Link told them.
Saria looked around the cave, and something tugged on her skirt. She turned around
and looked down to see Achela (who is about almost a third as tall as Saria at this point)
standing there.
"You wanna see my brother and sister?" she asked.
Saria looked at Link and Rose, who were right now talking to the two sages seated at the
table, and shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" she said.
Achela led her over to a second room that had been hollowed out of the cave. In there
was a small bed with high rising sides. Saria walked over to the side of the bed and
looked down into it.
The twin pups were even smaller than Achela.
Saria almost squealed in delight, but she stopped herself in time.
"No, I don't want to wake them." She thought.
"Achela, let's go back to your mom and dad now, ok?"
Achela nodded, and returned with Saria to the main room.
* * * *
After that, Zelda and Nabooru ate lightly, as they didn't want to impose, but when
Achela touched the hot stew and burned her paw, not only did Rose and Link rush to see
what was wrong, but so did Zelda.
"What's wrong?" Zelda asked.
Achela was holding her paw in her mouth. And resisted when Link tried to get her to
take it out.
"If only we had some snow!" Link muttered.
Suddenly Darunia looked up and towards the door.
"I think you might just get that wish Link." He said, and opened the door. And a ball of
blue light landed in the doorway.
"Ruto?" Link said.
Ruto looked at Link and smiled. "Did I hear somebody ask for ice?" she said, and in her
hand formed a ball of snow, which she tossed to Link.
Link managed to catch it without crushing it, and got Achela to take her paw out of her
mouth and stick it in the snow. And she stopped feeling the pain from the slight burn.
When the snowball started to glow, Achela jerked her paw from the snow, with not a
mark on it.
Zelda looked closely at the pup's paw.
"Been practicing Ruto?" Nabooru commented.
"Thanks Ruto, that was a nasty little burn. That stew was very hot, it could have done a
lot of damage to a young girl's hand." Link said.
Zelda couldn't take her eyes off Achela's paw.
Rose sighed, relieved. "I was really worried there. Thank you."
Ruto gave Rose a little glare. But she shrugged.
Saria looked at Zelda. "Hey Zelda, what's wrong?" she asked.
Everybody looked at Zelda. "What, did I forget something?" Ruto asked.
Zelda shook her head, and she held up Achela's paw towards them, and outlined on the
back of it with her fingernail, a vague image of a triple triangle in the fur. "There's a
Triforce Symbol on this pup's left paw!" Zelda exclaimed.
Everybody gasped. Except for Rose and Achela, they were just confused.
"Is that bad?" Rose asked.
Zelda looked at Link. "We need to talk." She said, and nodded at the other sages to calm
down Rose, who was suddenly alarmed at the reaction the sages and Link had had to
Zelda's finding.
Link then took Zelda outside the cave.
"What's the matter? I never gave that patch of fur any thought before, she seemed
completely normal!" Link said.
"Link, that pup was conceived BEFORE you gave up the Triforce, right?" she asked.
Link shrugged. "Yeah, so?" he asked confused.
"She's inherited a bit of the Triforce's essence from you Link!"
Link looked at Zelda. "And this means what?"
"It means that you're going to have to keep a really close eye on her by the time she gets
to be about ten. The Triforce of courage's power seeks out evil and tries to destroy it,
and she'll do just that if you don't stop her. Heck, she might even get killed doing it!"
Zelda explained.
Link looked at her stunned. "Well... What should I do? I can't watch her all her life!"
Zelda looked back at the cave. "I think we might need the fairies help on this one." She
said.
"Huh?" Link said.
Zelda looked back at Link, and Link could see that she was thinking at light speed
trying to make some kind of solution to this new problem.
"I tell you what Link, keep the two fairies here, tell them to keep an eye on your
daughter from now on. That way she'll have somebody there to keep an eye on her. But
the day she start's to act a little mature for her age, trying to be a warrior and all, send her
to me. She'll want to go off wandering, even at her age, but I want to at least guide her,
so she won't destroy herself."
Link stared at Zelda. "Send her to you? In Hyrule? All the people there will try to kill
her!" He said.
"Not if we cast this." she said, and took out a scroll.
Link looked at the scroll. "What's that?"
"It's a spell that will lighten the curse here in this land. You and the wolves will be able
to communicate in our language, Hylian. That way, she'll be seen as a member of a race
allied to Hyrule, like the Zoras, Gerudo and Gorons."
Link stared at Zelda for a minute before...
"Zelda, how do you do it?"
Zelda smiled. "I do have the Triforce of wisdom Link."
Link grumbled and crossed his arms. "That golden Triangle has caused me nothing but
problems..." Link muttered.
"And the last one it's likely to cause you is a very spirited Daughter." Zelda chided.
"Now come on, your mate is likely to have gotten worried." Zelda said.
Link shook his head. "Fine, but I'll still be the one stuck telling her about what really
happened when she goes off to you one day."
Zelda giggled. "Well, like father, like daughter. You had everyone worried when you
were going adventuring in Termina, so why should she be any different?" Zelda asked.
Link looked back at her, and laughed.
The End.