Her hand stung beneath her carefully placed gloves. Sheik knew her triforce was fighting to appear, searing into her skin. She could feel her skin split, the triangular scar reopening into a fresh wound. But she couldn't tell if the dampness she felt was blood or her own sweat.
The pain was slowly subsiding, but her hands shook nonetheless. Was it the energy, or was it just her own fear? Sheik's breathing suddenly felt so thick and heavy beneath the mask. Her fingers were barely holding on to her dagger, poised to strike if necessary. But Sheik did not trust her ability to fight, not in this state.
She had seen this wolf before. It was the same from her nightmare, the one that had tormented her before she even knew how to write. Her greatest childhood fear was this wolf, and that terror shook her to the core.
The wolf stared at her, tilting his head. It still had Link's eyes.
Think, Sheik.
Sheik slowly put the dagger back into it's sheath. She stepped away, taking a seat far back from the wolf- or Link, whichever. There was no denying Link's ownership of the triforce now. So this was the gift the gods had chosen to bestow upon him.
"Is that you, Midna?" Sheik spoke calmly, fighting to keep her shakiness from coming through.
"It sure is! Has my little puppy told you about me? Such a good boy!" Midna gently pet between the wolf-Link's ears. "But who might you be, hm?"
"An acquaintance, of sorts. I have been helping him on his quest. So far, we have collected a shard of your weapon."
Midna turned quickly to her, her smile dropping. "My weapon?"
Sheik nodded. "I know about Zant. I believe we could defeat him with your help if we collect all the pieces of Fused Shadow. You would be powerful enough to stop him."
Midna narrowed her eyes at Sheik, leaning closer over wolf-Link's ears. "And how would you know about all that?"
"The Sheikah have been told about this power, in order to protect the kingdom."
Midna eyed her closely, looking her up and down. A slow smile spread across her face. "You look a little different than the Sheikahs I've seen."
Sheik's cheeks burned red. "I-"
Wolf-Link's loud snarl interrupted her. He was turning in circles, trying to nip at Midna on his back.
"Aw, my poor puppy's cranky!" She giggled.
Wolf-Link snapped at her, nearly getting her leg. Midna floated off his back with a pout.
He headed slowly to the fire, then sat and curled up towards Sheik. His eyes almost looked apologetic.
"Dumb dog. Maybe a few pats would cheer you up?" Midna taunted.
"I believe he wants to sleep. We both had a long day."
"Well, petting him wouldn't hurt. He's very soft, I promise."
Sheik shook her head. "I'll pass. Could you make him human again? It's a little awkward with him not being able to communicate."
"I suppose." Midna sighed.
Wolf-Link let out a yelp, and the light blinded the cave. Seconds later, a very disheveled-looking and human Link had returned, clutching his hand in pain.
"Shit, the gods couldn't have made that hurt just a little less?" Link hissed.
Sheik looked back over to Midna, only to be met with blank space.
"Oh, she goes back into my shadow when I'm back to my human self. Say goodbye, Midna."
Link's shadow shaped into Midna's form, gave a wave to Sheik, and fell back behind Link.
"Ugh, finally, she's gone."
Sheik walked back over to him, taking her seat by the fire. "I apologize. While your story sounded unbelievable, I was wrong to doubt you."
"Actually, you've wounded me deeply. I don't think I can go on. You've known me for a whole twelve hours and didn't believe my every word? Unforgivable."
Sheik smiled faintly.
Link laughed. "It's fine, Sheik. It's been a crazy few days. You had to draw the line somewhere."
"It's a challenge to process, even with the proof."
"I get it. I will say though, I am hurt that you would just leave me here. Especially if you were going to steal my horse. Again."
"Rescued. And no, I wouldn't have taken her."
"I suppose that's a little more forgivable. You're on thin ice though, Sheikah."
She let out a laugh. "Come on, let's get some rest. There's more fights to be had tomorrow."
The sun poured in through the roof of the cave. Sheik rubbed at her eyes, feeling the dark puffiness around her lids. She wasn't accustomed to sleeping on the ground, even with the practice she had from the past weeks. Heavy bags lined her undereyes. Her skin hung sallow and sunken. She could feel the looseness of the Sheikah suit hanging from her body. Her last meal was, when, yesterday morning? Berries from Faron Woods, yes. Her stomach growled loudly at the memory. Between the hunger and the stiff ground, getting sleep was no easy feat.
It appeared she was the only one with such a problem. Link, on the other side of the fire, was dead asleep. Sheik wrinkled her nose at his loud snoring.
The first task of the day was to find some food. She already felt incredibly weak from yesterday's adventures, and she knew more fights lay in town. She would need some more energy if she hoped to survive.
Sheik rose up from her side of the fire, her muscles sore and aching. She felt her injured shoulder and pulled her sleeve down to examine. The skin was still an angry red, but scabbing covered the wound. It would definitely leave a scar, but she supposed that was better than losing an arm. Or worse, bleeding out.
Mother had a scar on her hand, from a Bokoblin attack when she was young.
"Never get a scar! Scars are unbecoming of a young lady. I blame my scar for the reason I had such trouble finding a suitor." Mother would say.
"She blames the scar, but I think her attitude is what scared the men away." Father would whisper loudly, making a face at Sheik.
Sheik would giggle.
Mother would glare at Father, acting all angry. But eventually a smile would cross her face and she'd laugh. "Well, you're stuck with this attitude forever!"
"Love you too, darling."
Impa would say scars showed character. Impa herself had scars all across her body. She wore them proudly.
"It's the reason I was chosen as your personal guard." Impa told her, once. "I told your father that it proved I would defend you with my life." Then, Impa would point to the scar lining her neck. It was raised and a stark white, the brightest of any of her other scars.
Sheik wasn't sure if Impa would be proud of her shoulder scarring. In one perspective, it would mean Impa taught Sheik well. But it also meant that Impa wasn't by her side to defend her.
Whatever the reaction, it was scar she would have to live with. Sheik shook off the memories and forced herself over to the nearby spring. She removed her head covering and soaked it in the water, then tied it around her shoulder. She'd have to remind Link to do the same for his foot. He probably wouldn't mind the scar, but it was best to heal quickly.
Movement in the water caught her eye as little fish swam around in the shallows. Sheik pulled out her knives and relaxed. At least she had found some breakfast.
"Link. You need to wake up." Sheik tapped him with her foot. The fish had been roasting for a while now, and the boy was still snoring.
"The goats will be fine, Fado." Link mumbled, turning away from her.
Sheik kicked a little harder this time.
"I'm up, I'm up!" Link bolted awake. He immediately turned to the fire. "Oh, breakfast?"
She nodded. It had been hard enough figuring out how to skin and gut the thing. Sheik didn't exactly have experience preparing food, much less in the wild.
"Go soak your foot again. It should be done by the time you finish."
"My foot? Oh, yeah." Link slowly brought himself up, messing his hair into a nest of tangles. "You know, it doesn't even hurt anymore." He peered closer at the fire. "Are you going to put any kind of flavor on it, or…?"
"I didn't pack a spice cabinet."
Link huffed and got up, walked outside the cave opening, and returned a moment later with a small pile of freshly picked grasses and mushrooms.
"You Sheikah must have some weird, bland food." Link shook his head, gently ripping and rubbing the mix over the fish.
Sheik turned away so Link couldn't see the hot embarrassment coming from under her mask. She did her best, but she hated the feeling of making an error. "I feel like you're using this to avoid soaking your foot."
"But the water is probably so cold." He whined.
Sheik rolled her eyes. "Go."
"Fine." He said grumpily, trotting over by the spring. He poutily sat at the edge, slipping his boot off and barely touching the water.
"Thanks again for healing my foot. I don't even see a scar." Link said, in between mouthfuls of fish.
Sheik nodded.
"I wish I could do Sheikah magic. It's kind of cool."
"Well, if it's only 'kind of' cool." Sheik laughed. "It is possible for Hylians to learn, but it takes years."
"I don't think I have the patience for all that."
"Even with the best training, a Hylian could never advance to the level of a full Sheikah. It's in our blood."
"Oh, so I couldn't even beat you? Definitely pass."
Sheik laughed. "It would take years for you to beat me in any skill, Link."
Link turned and stuck his tongue out at her.
"I started my training very young. Younger than most."
"Why?"
"I had these… nightmares, I suppose. Ever since I can remember. It became bad enough that my mentor thought it wise to start teaching me Sheikah sleep chants, and spells to ward off bad dreams."
"Oh, nightmares? I used to have bad ones, too. One time, when I was really little, I dreamt a giant ram was chasing me. I couldn't even look at the goats for weeks."
Sheik gave a weak smile. "Mine was always the same. Some think it's a type of premonition, to dream the same thing over and over again."
"Maybe. I've never had anything like that. What's the dream?"
"It's been a long time since I've had it." Sheik calculated how to explain as vaguely as possible. "Someone I know is in danger, about to be attacked by an evil creature. And I'm helpless to stop it."
"Evil creature? Like the Twili?"
"Not quite."
"Might be Zant, then."
Sheik didn't have the heart to tell him that the evil thing was him, in wolf form.
"Besides, I can't imagine you being helpless. Your aim with those knives is a little too good for that." Link said.
Sheik shrugged. "I hope so, in case it is a premonition. But I suppose we'll find out soon."
"Speaking of, should we get going?" Link wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
She nodded. 'There's an inn here in Kakariko. Soldiers frequent the bar there. I want to see if they've heard anything."
The sun was already high in the sky by the time they left the cave. Sheik mentally cursed Link for sleeping in so late. She closed up with the loose rocks, in case she needed to sleep by the spring again.
"How long to Kakariko?" Link walked over to Epona.
"Not far. You're better off leaving her here, it's just around the corner."
"Epona, I guess you're getting a break." Link patted her nose.
Sheik waved Link over and they followed the dirt road leading to Kakariko.
"Does it seem quiet to you?"
"What do you mean?" Sheik raised an eyebrow.
"Well, at least for Ordon, everyone is already up and working by now. It's noisy."
"Perhaps Kakariko villagers aren't as loud as Ordonians." Sheik teased, rounding towards the town's entrance.