Link stepped out on to Hyrule field and looked around. A small sigh of contentment crossed his lips as he breathed the fresh evening air. As the sun started to dip low on the horizon it covered the land in a beautiful splash of color. The trees carried a reddish glow to them while the grass looked like an orange and pink sea, swirling beneath his feet. Link stared out at the simplistic wonder in utter tranquility, before having the moment shattered by the sounds of Ashei and Shad bickering behind him.
The resistance was standing near the entrance to Hyrule with Telma and Auru packing the last of the supplies into the packs while Ashei argued with Shad about what route they were going to take. Sheik stood off a little ways from the group checking over Epona as well as the other three horses they had borrowed. Link considered going and trying to help pack but turned mid stride and went to aid Sheik instead. The two worked in complete silence for the first few minutes before Link spoke.
"Are you familiar with horseback riding?" He asked carefully, not wanting to sound like he doubted the abilities of the warrior.
Sheik didn't look offended but simply nodded and continued brushing the mane of a large black thoroughbred.
Link was uncomfortable playing the role of the chatty person, being as he was a very monosyllabic individual himself. He pushed himself to speak again.
"Would you be interested in coming with me for a ride? Epona is getting sort of restless and I have something I need to pick up near the Hidden Village." he said while pointing towards the direction he wanted to go.
Sheik eyes brightened at the mention of the hidden village and after a quick glance back at the group by the bridge he nodded. Link smiled, relieved that Sheik agreed to come.
"I'll go tell the others to meet us by the tunnel that leads upriver ok?"
He hopped up onto Epona's saddle and turned back to watch Sheik. Sheik untied the large black mount and jumped into the saddle with grace that rivaled his own. Link nodded back to Sheik as he rode off to tell the others. Link slowed Epona as they got near Ashei and Shad. Neither looked up but just continued bickering.
"I told you! We had already decided that we were going to take the tunnel to get up to the Zora's domain while Telma would meet us at Lake Hylia with the horses!" Shad shouted in frustration
"That's stupid!" Ashei countered "We should take the horse to that shop where you can fly to Lake Hylia on those chickens! It's faster!
"Absolutely not." Shad refused flatly
"Ha! You don't want to do it because you afraid of falling aren't you." She teased.
"N-no!" Shad stuttered, "And even if I was we decided that the tunnel would save energy and time."
Ashei rolled her eyes and started to reply when Link interrupted "Hey Shad!"
"Hmm? Yes?" Shad replied as he torn his angry gaze away from Ashei.
"I need you to tell the rest of the group that me an Sheik are going to go pick something up. We'll meet the rest of you at the tunnel."
"Yes of course, I'll make sure to tell the others" he said while adjusting his glasses.
Ashei looked like she was going to protest but Link quickly waved and sent Epona off to where Sheik was waiting for them.
"It's this way" He called to Sheik as they rode past. Link yelling out a "Hyah!" and sent Epona off at a gallop toward the canyon. The wind rushed at Link's face as they charged across the field. The cool autumn air ripped his sandy blond hair out of his face and he let a childish grin settle onto his face. For those few moments nothing else in the world mattered all he could feel was the low sun warming his back, Epona's strong muscles bunching beneath his legs, and the thundering sound of hooves hitting the ground in his ears.
Link reluctantly tore himself away from his dream-like trance as the canyon came into view. He looked around him to see Sheik riding just a bit to his left. Sheik's bangs still covered one of his eyes despite the wind and the scarf lay stubbornly press up to his face leaving only his single eye visible.
Link held out his hand and they both slowed as they got close village. Link jumped out of the saddle and peered around the corner one of the rock walls. Sheik also dismounted and walked over to join Link. Link began to signal for him to keep quiet but then remembered that Sheik was always silent so there was really no point. Link carefully lifted his bow and aimed it a one of the guard stalfos on the other side of the bridge. With extreme precision Link shot the arrow lodging it in the stomach of the monster.
It stiffened and fell over dead instantly. Sheik began to move out of their hiding place but Link signaled him to stay. They watched as another stalfos came into view, running to find out what happened to the other guard. Link let his second arrow fly, landing another perfect hit. Link waited until the two burst into dark clouds of evil energy before standing up. He walked over to the rock wall opposite to the entrance that leads into the hidden village and began to pull out his spinner. Sheik followed glancing around to see if there were any other monsters lying in wait. When he looked back he found Link staring at him. Sheik tilted his head ever so slightly as if to ask what he was doing.
"I'm trying to see if we can both fit on this or not." Link said in response to the unasked question.
He looked back down at the spinner.
"The place we need to go is down there." he said pointing to a ledge farther down the cliff, "and the only way to get there is on this."
As Sheik looked the machine over carefully it became clear they wouldn't be able to fit on it together.
"Do you think you would be able to operate it on your own?" Link asked, "I've never had anyone else try to use it so I have no idea if it will even work."
Sheik step up to it and carefully set his foot on it. The spinner gave a loud roar as the gear-like exterior spun, then the whole machine toppled slightly.
"Well it seems to work." Sheik said with a shrug. He took a deep breath and jump on it, sending it careening towards the edge of the cliff. Link jumped out of the way as to avoid the spinning spikes. The spinner jumped of the cliff and began to free fall. Link ran over to the edge but then sighed in relief as Sheik managed to latch the spinner into the grooved slots in the rock wall. He landed safely on the small ledge below and sent the spinner back to Link. As Link arrived on the ledge below he said, "You had me worried there for a second I thought that I would have to tell the princess that you wouldn't be coming back." he said with a slightly hysterical laugh accompanying his words.
Sheik simply shrugged and looked around at the small piece of rock they were standing on. Link began to rummage around in his pack as Sheik curiously peered over his shoulder. Link laughed at Sheik's surprise as he pulled out two clawed gauntlet like devices. Link held the strange things out for Sheik to examine more closely.
"My friends in Ordon gave these to me," Link said as he started to put the things on his hands. "They let me dig into soft dirt."
Sheik watched quietly as Link dug the claws into the dirt and began to scrape away the top layers.
"I helped a wealthy man in Hyrule once, after the whole thing was said and done he let me take any of the money that I wanted. When I was still trying to find a way to defeat Zant it was at times a pain to go into the town to collect the money, so Midna and I decided to bury some of the money out here so it would be easier to get if we needed it." He explained as he worked.
Sheik's eyes darted around Link's face, taking in every emotion that past behind his eyes. He noticed a slight note of pain crossed his face when he mentioned Midna. Sheik settled himself on the ground next to Link and reached into the pack that was secured around his leg. Similar to Link's pouch it could hold as many things as was required; Sheik's fingers slid over his many weapons of all sorts of shapes and sizes before finally resting on a leather pack that had an eerie orange glow surrounding it. Sheik carefully pulled it out and stared at it for a moment. He turned his gaze to look at Link who had stopped digging and was staring fascinated at the sack sitting in Sheik's hands. Sheik extended his arm to give the sack to Link.
"It's for you." he said as he waited for Link to take it.
Link's face twisted with indecision as he stared suspiciously at the glowing leather. After much consideration Link seemed to decide that it was safe enough to touch and tentatively reached his hand out. He set the sack in his one hand as his other tugged at the string that held the mouth of the sack closed. As the string came loose the glow from within the sack increased in brightness. Sheik watched intently as he reached in to pull out its contents. Link's eyes widened in surprise as he pulled out his wolf stone. The black jagged stone rested in Links hand while having no effect on him. He turned it over carefully trying to determine why it wasn't turning him into a wolf. The orange veins still pulsed with twilight energy but he noticed a small red jewel attached on the front. He looked at it in surprise and started to tug at it gently. Sheik reached over and took it from Link's hand; he firmly gripped the middle of the stone and started to pull out from either side of the jewel. With a small click two clear glass pieces came off from on either side of the stone. The glass pieces identically matched the sharp edges of the stone. Link automatically reached out to catch the falling stone, as it fell it wedged itself between his first two fingers just above his gauntlet.
A familiar surge of energy shot through Link's body; he felt his hair on the back of his neck start to stand up as he fell to his hands and knees. Link shivered as he felt his body morph into its new shape; his teeth started to lengthen and grow sharper, as well as his hair begin to grow and cover his whole body. After a few seconds Link pushed himself to his feet and shook his head. The transformation worked as it always had, changing his entire body into that of a dark gray wolf. Link walked around in circles trying to view himself from all angles. His single blue earring hung from his left and the jangle of his chain on his paw rang as he walked. After a complete inspection Link found everything to be just as it was when Midna was around. At the thought of Midna a small whine escaped his mouth; his back felt strangely cold without her imp form riding on top of him. Link sat down on his hunches and let his tongue hang out of his mouth. Sheik sat over a little ways from Link with his legs crossed. His face hadn't changed expression the entire time but now it seemed almost like he was smiling, though it was difficult to tell with the scarf in the way.
"Interesting." he said simply
Link scoffed then tilted his head. 'What was he expecting to happen?' he wondered in his head, 'and how did he get my stone?'
"The stone is from princess Zelda" Sheik said as if reading his mind. "The case is courtesy of her as well; as you can probably tell it make it possible for you to carry it around safely."
Link sat listening to Sheik intently as he explained. At the mention of the case Link looked down at his paw. The dagger-like stone was still wedged between his two front toes. He bent down and carefully grabbed the stone with his teeth. He gently pulled it free and set it down on the ground, though as soon as the stone dropped from his mouth he immediately felt the transformation begin to grip his body again. After Link felt his body return to normal he slowly got to his feet. He put his hand out to steady himself against the rocks. Having not transformed for a while, the change of form affected his mind slightly more than it would have normally. After clearing his head Link walked over to Sheik who was still sitting by the hole that Link had started to dig. Without a word Sheik handed him a small piece of paper marked with the official royal seal. Link took the paper into his hands and began to open it. With the seal broken the paper unraveled to reveal a small note. He immediately recognized the penmanship to be that of Zelda's.
'To Link,' the note began
I'm sorry that I am not able to be present to give this stone to you personally, however Sheik will serve as a suitable replacement in my stead. Shortly before Midna left to return to the land of twilight she entrusted the stone to me to give to you at a later date. I am hopeful that this stone will be of some use to you in your journey.
Best wishes
Zelda
Link chuckled slightly. "Always so formal." he said as he put it away. Sheik had an unreadable expression on his face as he had watched Link examine the letter.
"We had better head out," Sheik said as he started walking toward the horses. "The others will start to worry."
Link nodded and went over the hole that he had started to dig. He looked back at Sheik "Do you think I should tell the rest of the group about the stone?" he asked uncertainty.
Sheik looked thoughtful for a moment before saying "Keeping secrets from the ones you care about only invites trouble in the future."
Link nodded "That's very sage advice." he remained quiet for a moment longer before grinning "Well, it will definitely be interesting to see their reactions" he said with a laugh
"Hopefully they won't try to kill you." Sheik replied with a small twinkle in his eye.
"How much longer do you think they'll be?" Ashei asked from her look out in a tree.
"They didn't say how long they would be, they just said they need to get something." Shad replied before returning to his book.
Ashei didn't reply but just continued to watch the field for signs of their missing members. After a few more moments Ashei shifted her position so she was sitting on one of the larger branches with her back to the trunk. She laid her head back and promptly went to sleep. Auru watched her do this from the ground.
"I wish I could sleep anywhere like that," he said wistfully to Shad, "but nowadays gettin' comfortable seems to be harder and harder."
Shad smiled and said. "Well I don't think we should compare the normal population to Ashei, she's definitely got her own style."
Auru laughed again and answered "You've got that right, but I'm just happy to see her this relaxed. I haven't seen her like this since before the mountains were infested by monsters."
"And that was only on good days" Shad said they both laugh before seating themselves on the ground. Shad looked around.
"It's getting dark, should we set up camp here tonight?" he asked
Auru nodded "I think that would be most sensible. Then we can go to the Zora's domain early tomorrow morning."
Shad murmured his agreement and set off to collect the sleeping equipment from the packs.
Auru stayed sitting in the cool ground while watching the first twinkle of the stars start to grace the evening sky. He turned his attention back to watching for Link and Sheik. For a while all he could see was the silhouette of the trees that sparsely covered the Hyrule field but the off the far east he spotted the movement of two figures. He pushed himself to his feet and set off to welcome the returning members before Ashei woke up.
"Link! Sheik! I'm glad you made it here alright!" Auru happily greeted them as they got close.
"Hi Auru!" Link replied with a wide smile then said with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry we're late, we got a bit distracted."
"Well don't apologize to me I'm just glad you're safe." he replied. Link dismounted and started to check over Epona for any cuts or bruises. After finding none he started walking her over to the place the other horses were tied.
"Where's Telma?" he asked curiously
"She headed back to town to open the bar. She said that we should leave the horses here and she would bring them to the meeting place tomorrow." Auru answered.
Link nodded and continued walking. After tying Epona to a tree he went over to check if Sheik needed any help. As he walked over Sheik got up from his crouched position and started walking back to the camp. Link chuckled, 'Why I thought he would need any help I have no idea.' he thought with a shake of his head. Instead he decided to go set his weapons down near where he would be sleeping that night. He stretched contentedly after unburdening himself of all his equipment.
"Hey!" said a voice behind him. "Did you get lost or something? Shad was getting to the point of wanting to send out a search party."
Link recognized the voice and turned.
"No, not lost just sidetracked," Link said with a smile
Ashei smirked, "Well I hope this getting sidetracked won't become a regular occurrence," she said in a joking tone. "Since I was hoping to get there before winter sets in."
Link laughed. "Seeing as it's the middle of summer I think there's a pretty good chance I can make that deadline."
They both smiled and began walking to where Shad had begun setting out the food.
"Great timing you two, I just finished," Shad said as he gestured to the nicely laid out meal. "Now all we have to do is get Sheik and we'll be good to go."
"Get who?" Sheik asked mildly from immediately behind Shad.
Shad jumped "O-oh Sheik, there you are. You gave me quite a fright." he said in a shaky voice. Sheik shrugged and sat down on a rock close to the burning fire. The group sat around the fire sharing stories and laughing while eating the luxurious meal that Telma had packed for them.
"Telma sure can cook up a good meal." Auru sighed contentedly. Link leaned back and nodded his agreement.
"Link, you simply must tell us what waylaid you I'm dying of curiosity." Shad said eagerly.
"It's true, knowing you it had to be something interesting." Ashei agreed with a smirk.
Link grinned and pulled the wolf stone from his pouch. With a small click the glass covering split in two leaving the jagged stone exposed to the evening air. Link carefully grabbed the stone in his teeth and waited for the transformation to take hold. Ashei, Shad, and Auru all tensed as they watched Link morph and change into a wolf before their eyes. Link shook his body to rid himself of the strange sensations that covered his body after the change was complete. His ears perked as he looked at the individual faces of the group. Ashei and Auru stared wide eyed with their hands close to their weapons. Whereas Shad looked extremely pale and looked like he might fall over at any moment.
Sheik carefully cleared his throat causing the other three to jump slightly, "Does that explain things enough?" he asked in an amused tone.
Auru was the first to find his voice and said in a slightly shaky voice, "Well that's something you don't see every day."
Ashei blinked several times, as if trying to discern if she was seeing things. Link trotted over to her and nudged her hand with his muzzle. She smiled and tentatively touched the top of his head. Link bobbed his head and began walking over to Sheik. He opened his mouth and let the stone fall. Sheik expertly caught the stone in the two glass prices and snapped the case shut making sure not to touch the stone in passing.
"So, I know this is very minor compared to the fact that Link can suddenly change into a wolf but will he always have to carry that stone around in his mouth?" Ashei asked with a slight frown.
"It does look a bit silly," Auru admitted.
"Well I'm pretty sure that the stone needs to be touching my skin for the transformation to stay in place but I don't think it needs to be in my mouth"- he paused for a moment- "besides if I have it in my mouth all the time I won't be able to fight very well."
Everyone though for a moment.
"I suppose you could keep it between your fingers... Or I guess toes." Shad offered reluctantly.
"No, same problem it could fall out while I'm running or fighting." Link replied with a shake of his head.
They were all silent again as they considered how to solve this problem. At last Auru clapped his hands together.
"I've got it! Why don't you create some sort of necklace made out of a chain, then when you take off the case you can have it resting against your skin so the transformation will hold?"
"That's perfect!" Link said before frowning slightly, "but where are we going to find a chain? And how will we make a hole in the stone?"
"Don't worry about the chain; I've got lots of extra." Ashei said with a smile. "And for the matter of making a hole you don't really have to, I mean just wrap the chain around it securely and just make sure the thing can still touch you when you need it."
As she finished the last statement she got up and began to go through her packs.
"So how did you come by that thing anyway?" Auru asked
Link hesitated but after a reassuring nod from Sheik he began to explain.
"You remember that time you helped me out at the castle, when you knocked out that Kargarok with your ..." Link paused at a loss of what to call Auru's odd weapon.
"Bazooka." Auru filled in. "it's like a potable cannon; I had it specially made by Barnes."
"With my help, of course." Ashei quipped as she returned from looking through her bags. "If it weren't for my help the idiot would have blown himself to bits." she looked over a Link. "Now give me that weird stone of yours so I can start working on it while you're talking."
He nodded and handed her the stone encased in the glass. She carefully loosened the case and left a gap in the middle of about a half inch. There she inserted a pair of metal tongs and held tight to it. After securing a sure grip she removed the case completely. Link saw Ashei had control of the situation and continued.
"Anyway, on that day you might have seen what probably looked to you like a Shadow floating near me." - He sighed softly- "that was Midna... Midna comes from a different world then ours. Where ours is a world of light hers is not. It is called the Twilight realm. And she's the one who gave me the stone"
All eyes were intently fixed on Link as he painted a picture of the twilight world to the members of the Resistance. Their eyes grew wide as he described the veil of deception that was laid upon Zant and his followers and of the horrors that later issued from their acts of terror. He explained how he - as one of the chosen of the goddess- had changed forms when he first entered the twilight where he first met Midna. He spoke of how he and Midna aided the four light spirits, Eldin, Faron, Lanayru, and Ordona and how through them they brought back light to the different provinces. Then he went into how they had had to collect the pieces of Midna's helmet from the Monkeys, Gorons, and Zoras; the mirror shards from the yeti, the Sacred Grove and the Oocca. He concluded by explaining who Midna actually was and how they eventually defeated both Zant and Ganondorf with the aid of princess Zelda and the light spirits.
"Then Midna shattered the mirror of twilight and I haven't seen her since." Link finished.
After while of watching the rest of the group staring at him dumbfounded, Link added
"That's basically it..."
"'That's basically it' !?" Ashei repeated in disbelief. "You seriously just shrug it off like that?" she asked with a mixture of awe and frustration.
"That truly is an amazing story Link. Now I can see why your name came up in almost every story I heard around that time." Auru said with a laugh
Shad just stared at Link for a long time before looking down at the ground. Link looked at him and asked if he was alright.
"You met the Oocca?"
"Um yeah... "He responded warily
"What was it like?" Shad asked with note of wonder in his voice. "Is it really as beautiful as they say?"
Link chuckled and answered quietly "It is, and after this is all over I'll take you there." she
As he was saying this Shad's face started to light up like a child who got a puppy for his birthday. Then he blushed at his evident enthusiasm and informed Link that he would take him up on his kind offer.
They all laughed at his excitement and began to tease him until Auru informed them that they should be heading off to bed. Everyone slept the night soundly away... Well almost everyone.