Midna awoke to a frightening discovery; the tent had a hole somewhere that allowed moisture inside. With the drop in temperatures, the floor of the tent was coated in a very thin sheet of crystal! The worst part was that it was so cold; how was it so freaking cold?!

"Zach, wake up," she whispered as she gently shook the sleeping wolf. "Zaa-aaach, it's time to get uu-uup."

Zach jolted awake, his hackles instantly raised. His eye darted around the tent to find the danger, but it was just Midna.

Midna squeaked in surprise at the way Zach woke up. "It's okay, it was just me."

After a moment, the wolf arched his back and yawned. "Usually I get up before you." He tried to leave the tent but Midna only nestled further into his soft fur. "Uhh, I thought it was time to get up."

"It's really cold," Midna said with a shudder. "The floor is freezing!"

"Huh, it looks like we got a bit of ice buildup."

"That's ice?!" Zach nodded and Midna blanched. "I wish I had some footwear, this is so cold it hurts to touch."

Zach snorted. "Well, I have some socks you can borrow."

"Ew! No offense but no thanks."

"So what are you going to do instead?"

Midna pouted as she took her place atop Zach. "Suffer, I suppose." As they continued to converse, she snapped the tent away, ice and all.

"You sure?"

"Well, no, but we don't have any spare clothes." She patted his shoulder and smiled. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

Zach gave her a look but did not press the issue. "So before, there's supposed to be a Shadow Bulblin that summons a giant Shadow Kargarok. We kill the rider and commandeer the ride and that's how we get up the river channel."

"Huh. Well, I don't see any Shadow Bulblins," Midna said as she perched on Zach's head and peered around the lakebed. "Is there any way for us to summon one ourselves?"

"Not without hawkgrass, which seems to have gone extinct just like the horseshoe grass." He sat on his haunches, thinking it over. "The way it spawned before was by overhearing that creepy cannon guy talking to himself. I don't know what good that would do since as I said, there's no hawkgrass to call the Kargarok in the first place."

Midna leaned down and ran her fingers through random tufts of fur on Zach's cheek. "I guess we're stuck."

He nodded with a sigh. "I guess we are. How do we get one to show up without some sort of call or... If I could smack my forehead, I would."

"Why?"

"I'm a wolf, I can howl the tune of the hawkgrass myself."

Midna snorted. That snort quickly evolved into a cackle as she fell off, clutching her sides. "Oh, oh! That's priceless! You... You forgot you could do that!"

"It's not that funny," Zach grumbled.

"It's hilarious!" she cried as she wiped away some laugh tears. "You gotta learn to laugh at yourself, buddy. Here we are using our cunning strategic minds and, and you had the solution this whole time!"

Zach walked away from her, smacking her face with his tail on the way. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up."

"Eee hee!"

"Get up before you get mud all over my hoodie."

"Hey, it's my hoodie."

"Our hoodie, whatever."

Midna kept chuckling as she remounted his back. "Okay, so you just howl a song and then... and then what?"

"That's when you do what you do best; tame the wild beast and all that." Zach then paused mid-step. "Although... if I recall correctly, if the player howls at the grass in the game before the bulblin spawns, nothing happens... Think it's worth a shot?"

"Uhh... Ah, what's the worst that can happen?"

Zach groaned and set a paw over his eyes. "You seriously asked that, out loud, right before we're about to do a dangerous stunt."

Midna sputtered her lips and said, "We've tackled killer spiders, man-eating plants, giant lizards, each other, so on and so forth. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I think I dropped it somewhere on Death Mountain."

"Hey, that's a low blow."

"... you're right, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for, but I didn't mean it to sound spiteful. It just popped out, y'know?"

Midna sighed and patted his head. "I know and I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"You were right too. I shouldn't be so cavalier about all this, especially with how easy it's been since we entered this area of the Twilight. Tempting fate is a bad idea."

"I mean, you were just trying to be peppy and stuff. Keep the mood light and all."

She smiled, glad that he understood her intent. "Now that we have that out of the way, let's get to it." As added preparation, she summoned the bow and nocked an arrow, ready for anything.

Zach sat on his haunches and lifted his head. From his snout came a light howl, a soft song that made Midna think of the forest they had left so long ago. Once his song was finished, Zach tensed up again. "Get ready, here it comes."

'It' was much bigger than Midna had imagined. Even from a distance, the Shadow Kargarok easily dwarfed others of its kind, its talons large enough to handle Zach with ease if it wanted to.

The other problem was its rider. "Hey, Zach, that's not an ordinary Shadow Bulblin on its back."

"No shit."

Midna decided to let that one slide. Priorities, she thought, priorities. "What is it?"

"From the looks of it, I think that's King Bulblin but Twilit-ized." Indeed, the rider was enormous to an almost comical degree as the Shadow Kargarok clearly strained to stay aloft. The rider's twin silver horns were stained dark red, a single red eye gleaming out from its sinister black mask.

The closer it came, the easier it was for Midna to aim her bow. Just a little closer and... thwip! The arrow bounced off King Bulblin's mask but provided enough of a distraction to throw off the Kargarok's course. The beast flew over their heads, its talons scraping against the ground behind them.

"So we just need to knock him off and claim his ride for ourselves?"

"That's the long and short of it, yeah."

Midna nodded. "Simple enough. You be ready to dodge, I'll try to aim specifically for King Bulbous."

The Kargarok returned and swooped down, forcing Zach to follow on Midna's advice and jump to the side. Midna aimed and loosed another arrow, though sadly it missed its mark. Two arrows down, eight to go.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to hold still long enough for you."

"Don't worry about it, you're doing great." She aimed a third time and took a deep, deep breath. Focus on your goal, she told herself. Just keep sight of your objective, line it up, and...

Thwip!

That arrow grazed King Bulblin's arm. He jerked the reins, forcing the Kargarok to spiral over Zach and Midna's heads.

"Nice shot!"

"Thank you!" Midna appreciated the praise but she knew their luck would not hold forever. Three arrows gone and only one did any measurable damage. Curse her imp form! If she were her true self, this would have been over by now!

She supposed she could fly right up to King Bulblin and knock him off... So she did just that. With a mighty cry, she smashed King Bulblin with her hair-hand and knocked him clean off the Kargarok. She took a moment to dust the saddle off and plopped down, her hair-hand clenching the Kargarok's head.

The Kargarok thrashed about and tried to toss Midna off. "Hey! Stop it!" She tried to grasp it but its skin was too smooth and oily like the rest of the Twilit wildlife in Hyrule.

"Midna, hurry up please!" Zach beckoned as he pounced on King Bulblin, biting at his jugular.

"I'm your new master now!" Midna ordered her new mount. She patted the beast's sides and even stroked along the base of its neck. While her experience with flying creatures was limited, hopefully her riding lessons were transferable. Sure enough, the Kargarok eventually stopped its crazed movements and allowed Midna to remain aboard. "Settle down, that's it."

By the time Midna had it fully under her control, King Bulblin had Zach in his inky black grip. He lifted the wolf boy up and chuckled at Zach's struggles to free himself. "Now," he said, catching Midna's attention, "I break you."

Midna had several thoughts racing through her mind; King Bulblin actually spoke! And she understood him! And he was going to try and break Zach's spine over his knee! Andthe Kargarok would never reach him in time!

King Bulblin hoisted his prey up higher, his chest quaking with sick laughter. Zach kicked wildly with his free limbs but to no avail. "Goodbye, troublemaker."

Thwip!

He gasped, dropped Zach, and clutched the arrow lodged in his twilit-smothered torso. "Impressive."

With one hand Midna whisked the bow away, with the other she snapped the reins. The Kargarok swooped down and snatched Zach up in its talons, and with another snap of the reins it took to the skies. "Okay, where do I go?"

"See that part of the lake where water's dribbling down? Follow that ravine, it'll take us straight up to the head of the river."

They were halfway to the ravine entrance when a deep trumpet rang from the lakebed. Midna turned her head and saw King Bulblin blaring a signal horn while his free hand tried to stem the bleeding in his chest.

"MIDNA!"

She snapped to attention just in time to yank the reins. Her Kargarok jerked up and over an incoming enemy Kargarok, which also carried a bow-wielding rider. Further ahead, more enemies poured from the ravine entrance. "Oh great, he summoned his lackeys."

"Well, I'll just be here if you need me. Can't really do much but, y'know, moral support and all."

Midna smirked. It was true that Zach would not be very useful at the moment but that worked in their favor. Right now, they needed to get further up the ravine and try not to get killed on the way. Having Zach be anywhere but safe and sound in the Kargarok's talons would just add more to worry about.

"Oh, and make sure to keep an eye out for shadow insects along the way."

"Great. Hang on!"

"To what?!"

Midna snapped the reins and the Kargarok surged forth, right between two incoming enemies. The riders proved their lack of intelligence when they aimed their bows at Midna but released their arrows right as she passed, killing each other instead of her. Without anyone to guide them, the Kargaroks wisely decided to flee the scene.

As much as she enjoyed that bit of luck, Midna needed to attack and steer her own Kargarok if they were going to survive. "I'm not going to like this," she grumbled. Her hair-hand snatched up the reins. She readied her bow with her now-free hands as the Kargarok swooped into the ravine. "Any advice?"

"Keep a lookout for archers with bomb arrows," Zach said. "They'll try and knock down giant stalactites, assuming that part's still the same."

"And here I thought it was going to be difficult."

"Are you tempting fate again?"

Midna chose not to answer. Instead, she took note of the ravine itself. As Zach said, giant stalactites dangled from the stone ceiling. They turned the straight corridor into a haphazard death trap where a single mistake meant broken bones at best. What else is new?

With a snap of the reins, she guided and directed her mount around the obstacles. It was simple; a duck here, a swoop to the left there. There were no shadow insects and no bomb arrow archers, and the riders that followed Midna into the ravine were too clumsy to navigate around the natural architecture. When Midna spared a glance behind her, she found her pursuers beating a hasty retreat. The rest of them had smashed into stalactites and exploded into Twilit particles, but Midna did not care about that.

She cared about the cold that surrounded her once she left the nest behind. Tiny white specks floated down from above, twirling and flitting in the air as her Kargarok carried them further and further north. The specks melted as soon as they touched Midna's skin, making her wish she had a mask to protect her face.

"Wait, look down! There's a—damn it, we missed a Shadow Insect."

Midna groaned at her mistake. "I didn't even see it." The coldness and snow stung at her eyes and blurred her vision. The biting wind gnawed at her, chilling her to the bone. "What the hell is this white stuff?!"

"When raindrops get cold enough," Zach said, "they turn into snow. Good thing it's not colder or they'd be coming down as solid ice. Much more painful and difficult to get through."

The ravine opened up, bathing Midna in even more wretched snow. She cursed it, cursed the path she had to take, cursed the trio of fire arrows that whizzed past. With a yelp, she jerked the reins away from a second slew of arrows. The wind howled in her ears. She looked all around but only saw white, white, and more white. A cold far more intense than any other settled in her heart when she realized, "I can't see them in this snow!"

"I still can!"

"How? Doesn't your eye sting too?"

"Trust me!"

In the back of her mind, Midna noticed their reversal; for once, Zach was to be her guide while she was blind. She wished she could reach down and pet his head. "I do trust you. Guide me, hero." Midna felt something across their connection, a tiny burst of joy at her trust, but also fear. What if he misled her? What if he was wrong? What if he did everything right and still lost?

"Turn left," he said despite his fear. "You're off course but it's too late to correct. Turn left and lead them back into the ravine."

Midna obeyed, though she had to ask, "What then?"

"Ideally, they'll either try and follow or fly above. Either way, we'll lose them and we can nab that Shadow Insect too. Then, once we get it, we'll turn right around since those stupid riders will think we're going back to the entrance."

She took several deep breaths and closed her eyes. Just breathe, in and out. In and out. Trust in him. Trust his senses. "That's very risky," she said with a smile. "I like it!"

"Okay, stop turning. Keep true now."

Midna did so and as expected, the pursuers rose above the ravine intending to head them off at the entrance. It was no small relief to face the opposite direction, as the wind was now blowing with her than against her. She wiped her face and hissed at the stinging sensation her own hand made against her skin. "Damn, this is cold! When we're done saving the world, this is not going to be part of my vacation!"

"I hear that," Zach said with a laugh. "I'll take a hot spring bath, please and LOOK OUT!"

Too late. Something very big crashed into Midna's Kargarok. Something big and white and electrifying. Midna had to force her mount to roll away, losing precious altitude and speed to save their lives. She caught a glance at the beast mid-roll; it was a gigantic, puss-ridden Shadow Insect. "Are you kidding me?!"

"A Twilit Bloat," Zach said. "This was supposed to happen later but fuck us, right?"

"Any ideas?"

"Same as the small ones. Dodge the stinger and take it out. Aim for its underside, less exoskeleton there."

Midna groaned but readied her bow all the same. The damned bloat flew side by side, matching speeds with Midna's Kargarok. Its carapace sparked with energy and Midna realized all too late its intention. It rammed into them, sending arcing bolts of electricity into her, her mount, and Zach. She wanted to scream but her lungs had seized. Her Kargarok faired slightly better, managing to stay aloft despite the attack.

A few scant seconds were all Midna needed, yet the Bloat was determined to undermine her efforts. It tried to ram again but Midna's Kargarok had its own plans. It ducked down without Midna's signal, allowing her to send two arrows straight into the damn Bloat's underbelly. Four arrows left, she reminded herself. Make them count.

Her efforts were rewarded by a pained screech from the Bloat. And then it abruptly dropped down, smashing into Midna from above. At least this time, it had not had enough time to recharge its electric power. Simple brute force merely shoved the Kargarok down and to the right, though Midna caught a nasty graze from one of the very arrows she had loosed at the Bloat to begin with.

Midna was short-tempered, that was obvious from the start. She never claimed to be of even temper, though she did have enough pride to say she had better control than Zach. And so, it came as only a small surprise to her when she ripped an arrow out of the Bloat and stabbed it back into the damn thing once, twice, thrice, even four times! Each time, viscous white blood splattered on her, until the fourth strike when the arrow snapped in half.

The Bloat pulled itself away before Midna could grab the other arrow lodged in its belly. It performed a roll and a dive that could only have been done by a skilled rider, not a mindless beast. Midna matched its movements, now with the intent of turning her own ride around. The last thing they needed was to actually get to the entrance and have those enemy riders fill them with arrows. Maybe Zach's idea was not the best...

No, there would be no second-guessing. She did choose to follow his advice and it did get them out of a tight spot. He could not possibly have known about this, though he did have knowledge of the creature itself. Midna supposed it was inevitable that, if the story was as grand and extensive as their actual adventure, of course some of it would slip Zach's mind.

An arc of electricity crackled past Midna's head. She watched in horror as it exploded against a stalactite directly in her path, causing the stalactite to fall from the ceiling. Midna jerked the reins hard, too hard. She overcorrected and nearly smashed into another stalactite, losing speed.

The Bloat was directly behind, keeping pace despite its massive size. She spared a glance and spotted none other than King Bulblin riding atop the Bloat. That certainly explained its aerial skill. When she saw its stinger recharging for another volley, she loosed another arrow. This one caught the Bloat in one of its many eyes. It roared and discharged its attack, missing by enough of a margin to grant Midna more time to think.

If she turned around now, she risked ramming directly into the creature and getting herself and Zach killed by electrocution. If she stayed her course, either the Bloat would overtake her or they would reach the ravine entrance and be killed by a volley of arrows.

Volley of arrows...?

"Zach, whatever happens," she said, snapping the reins, "don't panic!"

"I'm not gonna like this, am I?"

"Nope!" Midna vanished her bow and took hold of the reins with her bare hands. Her fingers were almost numb from cold and adrenaline. The wind howled in her ears. Her heart was fast but steady. "I can do this," she told herself. "I can do this." With a tug of the reins, her Kargarok slowed down. The Bloat's stinger crackled, ready to attack again. Midna seated herself sideways and beckoned at the creature. "Come and get me! I'm right here, give me your best shot!"

"Fool!" King Bulblin called. One of his hands was slick with black blood, the other holding onto the Bloat's carapace for dear life. "You fail to realize you are about to die!"

"And you fail to realize that you are too!" she cried back as they passed the ravine entrance's threshold.

The Bloat's stinger fired its electric bolt.

The riders waiting at the entrance loosed their arrows.

Midna smirked at the perfect timing. She stretched her magic as far as it went, thanking the gods that it was just enough for herself, her Kargarok, and Zach. Her nerves burned and her senses overloaded. Up and down disappeared, time and space melted away, and it was all she could do not to pass out. They burst into a cloud of shadowy bubbles through which both the electric bolt and the volley of arrows passed harmlessly.

At least, it was harmless for her group. The shadow riders took the brunt of the electric attack and exploded in clouds of Twilight. King Bulblin was as self-serving as Midna guessed, for he had the Bloat roll and forced it to take all the arrows while saving his hide. Yet, he failed to realize that with his ride gone, he would fall all the same.

Just a few more seconds, just a few more... there! They flew right through the shadow riders and Midna snapped her group back to normal. She let out a ragged cry and clung to her mount for dear life, her lungs aching with every breath. "Zach... are you okay...?"

"Next time, I'm driving," he grumbled with a snort. "How are you doing?"

"Tired... so tired..." Midna weakly pulled the reins and turned her ride around. All that remained of the Bloat were several Tears of Light. As Midna approached, they floated to her. Once they touched her skin, her fatigue vanished. Even her clothes were repaired and cleaned by so many tears at once. "Nevermind, I feel great!"

"I forgot you could do that," Zach said. "That was ingenious!"

"Thank you," she said, beaming. "Sorry I gave you a scare. I've never done that with other living things."

"You did great, don't worry about me."


The ravine was a breeze from then on. Even the blinding cold was little more than an inconvenience, though it did damper Midna's mood. Victorious as they were, it was still damn cold!

They emerged safely at the head of the river, where several spits of land awaited them. The Kargarok landed with a thud and released Zach, who was all too happy to stretch his paws and feel solid ground beneath them. Midna floated off but stopped when the Kargarok bumped her shoulder.

With a smile, she hugged it around the neck and said, "Thank you for your help. Go in peace, friend." The Kargarok trumpeted and flapped its wings, whisking itself back down the ravine.

Midna set herself down on the ground, hugging herself and flexing her fingers. It was still snowing but without the rush of flight, the snow was actually quite pleasant to watch. It certainly was easier to see without the wind in her face. She took several deep breaths and closed her eyes, only to open them at the sound of Zach's laughter. He kept laughing as he lay down beside her, nudging her arm with his snout. "And for our next trick!"

Midna burst into laughter. While the Tears of Light healed her weariness, she still had adrenaline in her veins and her mind had to take a breather. She nestled against Zach, absently petting the top of his head as he rubbed his eye. "That was not fun. Let's not do that again."

"I happily agree."

"I can't feel my fingers," she whispered. "Is that bad?"

"It can be. Bury them in my fur, that should warm them up."

"Hate the cold..." Midna did as instructed, sighing in relief at sensations returning to her fingers. She noted with delight how soft his underfur was, it was perfect for her icy fingers. "I did good, yeah?"

Zach nodded as he rubbed his eye. "You were amazing."

"Were you scared at all?"

"That's a stupid question," he said with a laugh. "I was dangling from a wild animal flying past arrows and energy bolts and rocks, fuck yeah I was scared!"

Midna laughed with him and said, "Fair point. Thank you for guiding me." Zach rubbed his eye for the third time. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You keep rubbing your eye. Is something wrong?"

"Oh. No, it's just a little itch. It's fine, not a big deal."

Midna pouted as she moved to see his face. His left eyelids had several scabs and some mild swelling. "That doesn't look good, Zach. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Hey, you just got us through the hallway of death," he said, leaning away. "You don't need to do anything for me, I'll be fine. Worst case scenario, I just wait until I get back to normal and then I'll do it myself."

"Come on, what's so bad about me helping you?"

"It's personal and messy and gross."

"Zach, I looked after you after Diababa and Fyrus. I cleaned your wounds of poison and burns. I can help with this. Please let me help."

"... okay... I just need some warm water and a cloth to wipe the dried crud away."

Midna spotted a building nearby. It served as a bridge connecting two riverside cliffs and had a light spirit sitting at the door. Upon approach, Midna identified the spirit as a young woman dressed in strange overalls and a red blouse.

"Hena," said Zach. "She owns the fishing hole nearby."

"Fishing?"

"I'll explain later. Right now she's scared out of her wits."

"Why's that?"

"Because there's a shadow insect right beneath her." Right on cue, the aforementioned insect skittered out from under the door. Midna splatted it with little trouble, much to Hena's relief.

Hena said something to herself and entered the building, Zach and Midna following behind. Hena went to the fireplace and went about trying to make a fire, but her hands were shaking too much to get a good grip on the flint and steel.

Midna felt a swell of pity for the poor girl, but mostly she wanted warmth herself. She cast a spell and lit the fire, casting the house in a warm orange light. Hena set a cast iron pot over the fire and went about her business, having assumed she herself lit the fire.

"Nice warm fire," said Zach as he sat down. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I have my secrets," Midna said cheekily. "Now hold still." She emptied a water bottle into the pot and retrieved a rag from a nearby shelf. She dunked the rag in the pot, wrung it out, and dabbed at Zach's eye. It was not nearly as bad as his injuries on Death Mountain, thank goodness for that. "So this happens pretty often, eh?"

Zach shrugged. "Pretty much. OW!" He flinched as she accidentally pulled a bit of fur with the crud.

"Sorry!" Midna patted his head and continued dabbing. "I'm sorry you have to deal with this."

"You're the one actually touching it. All that blood and other pleasant bodily fluids."

Midna frowned as she finished cleaning up the area. "That's not what I meant. I'm sorry that you are stuck with this. It shouldn't have happened, accident or not."

"Yeah, well, we can't change the past. And besides, me losing an eye is way better than—"

"Don't," she said a little too harshly. "Remember what we talked about? Differences in needs? Don't put yourself down to try and make me feel better. Just... let me express sympathy."

"... okay. I'm sor—Thank you."

Midna tossed the rag into the fire and hugged Zach around his neck. Still rattled from the events of just a few minutes ago, she asked, "So what's it like being a wolf?"

"Ahh, well, it's... I mean, it's hard to describe."

Midna settled in and patted his cheek. "I'm listening."

"It's different. The tail is like a new appendage. I mean, it is a new appendage but it's like a... well, I dunno. It just is. Keeps me balanced and stuff."

"Uh-huh, kinda like my hair."

"Uh, yeah! That's a good comparison."

"But in the opposite direction."

"Right, exactly." They shared a quiet laugh. "The fur is nice when it's cold, like right now. I barely feel the cold except on my nose. And in my eye for obvious reasons."

Midna closed her eyes and listened as he spoke. She was not sleepy but she knew she needed rest. "Not your feet?"

Zach shook his head. "The pads on my paws are too thick for coldness."

"Lucky."

"Lucky to have you." He cleared his throat and looked away. "As a companion, of course."

Midna smirked and tapped his snout. "You got yourself out of that cage back when we first met."

"And wouldn't have been able to get anywhere else without you." His ears flattened against his head. "By the way... I'm sorry for how I treated you. I wasn't very nice to you."

"Hey, can't change the past."

"Yeah... So what's it like being a princess?"

Midna shifted onto her back, resting her head against Zach's side. "I'm not sure how to describe that. I've been royalty all my life, it's hard to tell how others have lived compared to my own upbringing."

"Fair enough. How about this: You mentioned that you know about The Elder Scrolls, so let's talk about that. How did you play it?"

"Now that's a conversation I can get behind!" Midna grinned ear to ear as she made herself comfortable. "In the Twilight Realm, it was a tabletop game that released just a few years ago. Skyrim was the newest but before that was—"

"Oblivion, and before that it was Morrowind."

"Right! I was too young to play the older games before them but I remember Oblivion. But Skyrim, that was my favorite. Even if the game didn't come with all that it promised."

At that, Zach burst into a fit of laughter. "Even when it's a physical game with paper and pieces, it still came out full of issues?"

Midna nodded. "Sure did. Some of the dragon words were missing, some of the game enemies weren't included, and half the time you risked breaking the pieces." She then laughed herself when she noticed Zach's tone. "Are you saying that your Skyrim had issues too?"

"Sure did!" Zach took in a deep breath and chortled. "See, my Skyrim was rushed to completion."

"Mine too!"

"Exactly the same issues, too! Unless I had mods, I never could get everything the game had to offer. I was always short a few dragon words or a spell or something. But at least your game was done on the table and you could do whatever you wanted. When a video game doesn't work properly, it's called a crash. And when a video game crashes, it can be disastrous. You risk losing all your information and the game could be rendered unable to play properly again."

"That sounds very frustrating."

"It can be, especially if it's been a while since you've saved."

"Saved what?"

"Your game."

"I don't understand but you don't have to explain everything. I think I get the basics."

"I'm curious about something. Skyrim takes place in a snow-covered land far in the north, but you've never even heard of snow before. How does that work?"

"My Skyrim takes place in a desert."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That's interesting, I wonder what else is different about it. And everything else our worlds have in common. What race did you play as?"

"My main character is a Breton. I've played the game to the point I got the coolest-looking ebony armor and longsword."

"Even though that's not the best equipment?"

"Screw the best equipment, I want the coolest!"

"Eee hee! Well, I like to play as a Khajit."

Zach immediately groaned, shaking his body from side to side. "Come on, that's such a cliché!"

"Why?" Midna poked his side. "Is it because I'm a girl and the Khajit are cute?"

"No! It's because Khajit are really fast and really good at stealth and that makes it easier to be an Assassin, the most cowardly class."

"Well, how do you like to play?"

"Like a conqueror. I let them attack as I slowly approach, let them see how futile it is, and then I gut them like fishes!"

Midna rolled her eyes but never lost her smile. "Typical. You know you can just as easily pick them off from afar with bows and spells."

"I did that at first but my Sneak skill kept rising too fast and I wanted to use melee weapons, so I stopped doing that."

"That's fair. Far be it from me to tell you how to play your game." She sputtered her lips and tried to get her thoughts in order. Their games were similar enough to share quotes and classes, yet their settings were wildly different. That did explain the discrepancies when she watched The Lord of the Rings, since there was no mention of snow in the books she had read.

Snow... now there was something she had never seen before. Such a fascinatingly vile form for water to take. Midna certainly had no intention of revisiting this area of Hyrule, yet... "Do we need to come back here after we get the Fused Shadow?"

"... assuming the Mirror shards are still where they were before, yes. One of them will be further up north, where it's even colder than it is now."

Midna groaned and buried her face in Zach's fur. "That's just unfair. I hate the cold, Zach, I really do."

"It's not for everyone."

"Nor should it be. Who willingly lives in these conditions?!"

"People who like the cold."

"There are people who like the cold?!"

"Yeah, just like some people like living in the desert. Or at least I assume they like it. I'm not them, y'know."

Midna sighed as she rose to her feet. "Well, as much as I really enjoyed this break, we should get moving. It's not going to get any warmer without us, after all."