Story Title: Our Wind Will Shake the Earth and Stars
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight Princess.
Author's Notes: Once again, I bestow appreciation to mysticalgems, Kit, Tavi, Tapix, Rei Uchiha339, Anon256, Rogue Blade, SweetTempest, and Shirosenshi Kisetsu 116 for reviewing.
While Link's Light Beast design came later, the initial idea came out of my frustration during my first play of TP as I kept falling off the cliffs around Lake Hylia and wished Wolf-Link could fly. Didn't know what creature he would be yet, but I swore it would fly. Also, Shad's expedition to the Temple of Time ruins at the end of TP didn't happen yet in this fic.
Thanks for reading.
-o-
Chapter Six: Come Upon A Grove of Old Trees
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Shad was having a very strange and very lengthy dream. No, not the recurring one where he stands naked in the central square and fails to recite his father's Five Fundamental F's of Academic Exploration and the townsfolk laughs at him, whether at his blunder or his nakedness Shad is never certain of. No, this dream was much odder. It was also rapidly becoming one of his worst nightmares.
He dreamed about going with Link to the City in the Sky in a dreadful cannon, meeting the sky beings, being attacked by the sky beings, uncovering a new chamber, summoning four Light Spirits, and being viciously attacked and almost getting incinerated out of existence by the Light Spirits, if it were not for the heroics of a marvelous flying beast. Oh, and yes, Link had somehow mysteriously vanished. Poof.
Shad knew he would laugh about the dream as he headed off to meet Link at Lake Hylia. He would tell Link and he would laugh about it as well. They would both find amusement in the preposterousness and then Link would reveal to Shad his discovery and that would be all.
Sunlight struck his shut eyes. Shad slowly stirred. His head ached, well, his whole body ached, but the most pounding, pressing pain was in his head. Shad groaned as he sat up, a hand on his temple and his eyes still closed. Funny how his bed felt just like hard earth and his bedroom was unusually well lit, and there was what Shad was fairly certain was a moist lakeside breeze blowing in.
Shad opened his eyes and saw little without his spectacles. He was outside, he knew that now, and oddly, it did not alarm him all that much. Logic told him that it should but it did not, his common sense lost in pain.
A figure stood crouched in front of him. Shad strained to perceive any discernible features and match them to memory, and then, failing that, hurried to distinguish the figure as friend or foe. Though it was extremely blurry, Shad had determined at last that the figure was quite Link-shaped. Few words could express the full depth of Shad's relief to learn that Link had made it through all right after all.
"Quite the magician, you are, old boy," Shad said as he padded a hand about and searched for his spectacles. "Had me terribly worried. I feared the worst when you vanished. Of course you are of hardier stock than I, so really I had nothing to fear, I see. Speaking of which, could you assist me in tracking down my—oh, never mind, here they are."
Shad put his spectacles back on and—
Shad screamed.
Wide-eyed in terror, he scuttled backwards on his hands and readied himself to leap up, turn tail, and run away with all the life in him at first forward motion of the beast. Except that the beast did not advance toward him. Or display any aggression. It just sat there, looking at him and, at Shad's show of fear, tipped its head to the side. Rather like a confused puppy.
Very well then, I am not dreaming. No, I am not dreaming at all, Shad realized, his breaths audible and rapid. …I wish I was.
In other circumstances, like if he hadn't just survived divine incineration and if Link were with him to offer protection, Shad would find the sight and discovery of this creature marvelous and fascinating. But Shad was on his own and if the beast decided to attack Shad, well, the beast would win.
But it really was a remarkable beast, Shad had to admit. Having no other precise means of describing what it was—no scientific name, no folk name, no anything—Shad simply called it what it was. The beast was a feathered dragon.
Shad had read about dragons. He had read about them in legends and old myths, the not-so-quite-factual-but-possibly-could-have-been side of Hyrule's deep and fascinating history and personally, his favorite side and his ultimate field of expertise. Most stories depicted dragons as awful monsters necessary to be killed post haste, though there was one dragon that had been friends with a previous Hero in childhood, except that later it too had to be slain.
But none of the stories ever described a dragon like the one before him. None of the other dragons ever had feathers, for one thing. Feathers that changed from gold to white-gold to silver in a continuous fiery dance. Or their scales were ever a rich golden color that constantly sparkled. In fact, the entirety of the dragon's body curiously appeared to emit a soft light of its own accord.
The dragon sat patiently. Even stationary and showing absolutely no hostility, its presence exuded power, protective ferocity, and majesty in abundant spades. It was clearly a strong beast, a beast with pride. It commanded and deserved respect and Shad tried to remain as respectful as possible, lest he affront it and break its friendly disposition.
His heart still hammered in his chest and he had a lot of fear and uncertainty toward the dragon, but Shad mustered up the courage to stammer out, "H-Hello t-there."
The dragon smiled back, or well, gave what appeared and Shad hoped was a smile. Really, he was all too hesitant to confirm whether it was a smile and the scholar was far too preoccupied staring at its many large and very pointy teeth to correctly determine.
Though he tried to avert meeting the dragon's eyes out of respect, humility, fear, Shad kept finding himself gazing back into its eyes. And the longer Shad met the dragon's blue eyes, the more familiar their stare felt to him. He had seen them before. He had met them before. They held the same quality of inner wildness as before, only now it was unbridled in this new form. But where had he seen them? Where? It irked and irritated Shad to no end that he could not recall where.
And then it hit him.
Shad gasped, "…Link?"
At last recognized, dragon-Link stood up onto his four legs, without a doubt smiling, and wagged his tail, his long, flowing tail feathers curling and fanning into flame shapes.
"Well, this is a predicament of the most curious sort," Shad said, his mind still reeling in disbelief and trying desperately to make rationality out of irrationality. His endeavor was not exactly succeeding. He found it difficult to equate the young Hylian hero as the same as the magnificent, formidable dragon.
Drooping his shoulders and bowing his head, Shad sighed. "I suppose I simply need to become accustomed," he thought aloud.
Feeling his presence, or rather his new body's radiating light, Shad looked up to find Link standing close to him. So close Shad could only see his blue eyes in front of him. Shad found the gesture reassuring. It was as if Link was trying to tell him that no matter what shape his outward appearance took, inwardly he was still himself.
He raised his hand, tentatively at first, and laid it on dragon-Link's beaklike snout, "You certainly know how to uncover trouble and place yourself in the midst of it, do you not, old boy?"
Link made a short agreeing growl as Shad stroked up and along his muzzle, halting just short of his feathery frill, as the feathers around his head and neck, their wispy tips edged with a faint green tinge, blurred the lines between feather, flame, and wind.
Giving Link a final pat, Shad stood up from the ground, taking a moment to brush the dirt off himself. Taking a quick survey of his surroundings, he found himself and Link on a high cliff overlooking Lake Hylia.
"I say, I possess zero inking on how we shall manage to restore you to yourself but I promise you that we shall," Shad said. "After all, there was a way to metamorphose you into this beast so there must be a reversal. It is merely up to us to discover it."
"First things first, we can eliminate the obvious dead ends. We can abandon petitioning the Light Spirits for any variety of aid." And then Shad crossed his arms over his chest, bowed his head, and began to deeply think on their possibilities.
"The royal family does possess quite a talent and proficiency in magic," he deliberated aloud. "Perhaps Princess—oh how dare I make such gaffe—Queen Zelda can…"
Shad let his thought trail off and meet its end. Sure, yes, it was an idea, but Shad did not believe this was such a task the newly-coronated queen could succeed at accomplishing. It was true that the royal family did possess great magic but would Her Majesty be strong enough to break the enchantments of the Light Spirits? Shad had his doubts she could.
He supposed it was an option, really one of their few. And even if she could not transform Link back, perhaps Queen Zelda would offer her aid and library resources so that a proper solution could be found. After all, what did Shad and Link have to lose in trying?
Link pressed his dragon forehead against Shad's side and gave a gentle push and growl, bringing the scholar back to attention and to his focus.
"Do you have an idea, old boy?"
Link nodded.
"And since your means of communicating with me are limited, you will be showing me your plan, I presume?" Shad said, receiving a second nod from Link.
"Marvelous, old boy! Except…" Shad gazed out over the edge of the cliff out onto Lake Hylia's sparkling surface. "How ever will we depart this cliff? Certainly will not be an easy undertaking, that I will assure you."
Link opened his wings a fraction, making enough sound and movement to catch the scholar's awareness.
"Well, that will suffice your escape," Shad said. "Mine, however, will take a much greater deal of time and effort, I am sorry to say."
Link made a low, airy grunt that sounded awfully like an audible roll of his eyes to the scholar. He stepped in front of Shad, kneeled down before him, and gave a sharp nod back in a clear signal for him to get on.
Shad's face glazed in shock. He pointed at himself and then at Link and then Link confirmed his suspicions with another nod. He had rather hoped Link had been kidding about the suggestion.
He tried to think of it as no different than mounting a horse and then Shad remembered he had never mounted a horse before. And his mind was just now starting to warm up to the idea of the dragon and Link being one in the same. All he could imagine now was him riding on Link's back, the close contact, the undulating movements as they soared…
Which was something he would rather not consider at the moment. The scene was bizarre enough. He did not need it to turn so very awkward. And then the scholar realized it already had.
"Well, yes, that would also suffice," Shad said, clearing his throat only to find it had gone dry. I say, it is the most logical and practical means, though not the one I am most comfortable with. …Not that I have been comfortable with most of what has happened.
Timidly, Shad swung one leg over Link's dragon back and sat, wondering where he was supposed to hold onto him. So far, there was only his feathery frill but that seemed to Shad too much like he would be pulling on Link's hair.
"Are you…are you confident I am not too heavy?" Shad asked.
Link looked back and gave a brusque snort and a smirk, which pretty much solidified to Shad how preposterous Link thought his question was. And, to further remove all doubt, as Link rose to standing, he sharply popped his back and bounced Shad, much to the scholar's surprise and scramble to find a grip.
Link headed away from the cliff's edge, stepping back as far as he could go. Shad had to admit the feel of riding on dragon-Link's back was not as awkward as he thought it would be, though it was still a strange one.
"Umm…pardon me, old boy," Shad said as Link circled to face the edge of the cliff and dropped into a running stance, "but I have either been unconscious or in terrible fear of imminent death before to accurately assess you, so refresh my memory, do you actually know how to fly?"
Link did not respond the second time either when Shad repeated his question. It was quite possible he was calculating distance and speed and wind direction and whatnot necessary and had simply not heard Shad. It was also quite possible that Link was ignoring him.
Before Shad had the chance to ask where it would be okay to hold onto him, Link rushed off. In his haste, Shad leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the base of Link's neck. He did not quite trust touching his frill yet, though with his face now inches from it, he realized the flames his feathers fabricated produced less so much a searing heat than that of a gentle early spring morning.
Shad's eyes widened in uncertainty as he saw the edge of the cliff swiftly approaching. He thought a short prayer and hoped Link knew what he was doing. Surely he does, he reassured himself. The old boy would not be so rash and would never place the pair of us in such a position of danger. My worry is unfounded, right?
…Right?
Link leapt off the cliff. With a flap of his wings, they rose a little. With a second flap, they rose a little less. And less. And less. Until it became apparent to Shad that they weren't rising at all and were, in fact, plummeting toward the overlooking rock formations below.
Shad shut his eyes and held onto Link's neck tighter. I say, I should have recognized something was off when Link did not offer me a blasted answer!
Pressed against him, Shad could feel Link's dragon muscles working, trying to aright himself, trying to capture loft. He was doing his best to save them. Whether his best was enough, Shad was too afraid to open his eyes to verify.
And then there was a very strange and sudden change in the air as Link swooped out of the plummet. The wind blew more steadily across and Link was no longer panicking. As a fine spray wet Shad's cheeks, he opened his eyes and slowly rose to sitting. They were skimming across Lake Hylia. In the windy rush by, Shad saw clear blue water, the early afternoon's white sunlight reflecting off the water, the surrounding rocky cliffs—the view was breathtaking.
Link ascended. Shad held around his neck and marveled at the experience of flying. Second only to his first sight of the City in the Sky, this was one of the greatest moments in all of his short life. An instant ago, his heart beat in terror. Now, it beat in incontestable joy. A wondrous world we live in, Shad thought in awe.
Link steadied and piloted their course toward the southeast. Much as he enjoyed admiring the magnificent view, a small matter pressed on Shad's annoyance, and the more he tried to brush it aside, the more he found himself wanting to mention it.
"A simple warning would have sufficed, old boy," Shad said. "I would have liked to know you had not exactly mastered the art of flight yet. Would have been valued information to know, do you not think?"
As Link turned his head to offer a response, they dropped from the sky. Rapidly shifting his attention back on the task at hand, Link soared back up to a preferred height in the air, beheading the tops of only four and a half pine trees in the process.
Shad apologized for the disturbance as he swallowed his fright and steadied a hand over his pounding heart. Best to not bother the old boy mid-flight. I say, not until he has at last mastered flying completely at least.
-o-
As they passed by small villages, the scholar wondered what the locals would deem of the rather slow-moving shooting star blazing by through the late evening sky. Shad supposed that any angle one approached to solving the mystery would yield only wild explanations. Most would probably chalk up the sight to the Goddesses and leave it at that.
As beautiful and wondrous as the innumerable stars, the deep blue to near black sky, and the haunting, up-close sight of the moon's first quarter was, several hours of flight had eroded its luster of brilliance. Shad raised his drooped head abruptly and rubbed his sleepy eyes. Though it had only been for a second or two, he had nodded off again, something he fought from doing, what with his fear of falling off Link in his sleep.
Shad wanted to propose they rest again but Link seemed unwearied and doggedly pursued on toward the final destination only he knew. If Shad had to speculate from their direction and the forest terrain below, however, he was confident they had left Lanayru Province and were now in the thick of Faron.
I say, it will not be long now, Shad told himself. Either we will reach Link's target destination, we will rest, or some combination thereof will occur. Point remains that all I have to do is remain awake long enough and observe this through.
Shad hoped he could. Aside from the dull ache in his legs, nothing else—the cool night wind, the gentle warmth radiating from Link, the steady rocking from his flight—were conducive to staving Shad off from sleep. Right now, sleep seemed like a marvelous idea.
Or not.
Shad felt the warning surge of magic on his hands seconds before Link hit the barrier. White-green electricity arced across the temporarily visible shield and through Link, zapping Shad in the crossfire and effectively deterring any forward movement from there onward. The barrier ricocheted Link and Shad down to the forest below.
Leaves rustled and branches snapped, poked, and scratched as Shad fell through the trees. His right side and left ankle each bounced off a sturdy tree limb and the scholar just managed to curtail a string of curses that would have left a bulblin blushing. Link fell nearby, his descent making a terrible uproar and taking down a tree or two with him in the process.
His twisting, turning, damaging to the possibility of life threatening fall finally came to an end when Shad at last dropped and entangled in a cradle of thick green vines.
"All right..." Shad muttered, winded and disorientated. "…I'm awake."
He lay catching his breath and waited for his mind to return to some semblance of working order. If there was any assurance he could take in the moment, it was that at least this was not his first fall of the day. No, that was earlier when Link agreed to take a break and proved he could land as well as he could take off. In comparison, however, the meeting with the barrier made Link's atrocious crash feel like smashing onto a pillow.
Slowly, Shad raised his left leg, stirred his ankle in circles, and prayed nothing had been broken. So it seemed nothing had. His ankle and side were just sore and without a doubt discolored heavily with nasty contusions. Shad rested back in relief, reminding himself that his injuries could have been much more severe and was thankful they were not.
Managing to somewhat liberate himself from his bindings, he peered downward, trying to get a fair assessment of how far he was yet away from the ground, and discovered the thick woods at night were entirely shrouded in an inky blackness. Far as Shad perceived, he could be a foot or several, several more off the forest floor.
Fair to declare I will be awaiting dawn's arrival to accurately and safely discern my location, permitting that Link does not come across me first. Shad sighed. …I say, I hope the old boy is unharmed. Between the pair of us, he certainly endured the rougher descent, or so I surmise.
Broad, arrowhead-shaped leaves spiraled and fluttered down, brushing Shad's face as he stared up through the trees at the few stars visible through the branches and worried. Concern piled on concern as he recalled the noise Link's fall made and his mind layered on worse and worse visions. At last he had to remind himself that Link was much more resilient than he and he survived mostly unhurt so Link was bound to be fine so no more winding himself into a fret…
Still he wished for some indication that Link was safe and sound. Or failing that that his thoughts focused elsewhere.
And Shad would have his distraction in the form of two tomato-sized orange-red eyes staring at him. He crawled away backwards, but his hand falling through a gap in the vines reminded him of how imprecisely high up he was. Recovering from his slip, Shad looked back in trepidation at the eyes, eyes that were luminous even in the darkness.
The leaves rustled without wind and layered underneath that sound, a buzzing noise not quite like a swarm of bees but not comparable to anything else. Beneath the eyes, a smile appeared and, to Shad's horror, stretched and stretched to an impossible length, revealing far too many teeth for the scholar's breathing to remain steady.
I do not like this forest, Shad thought as he gave back a nervous, twitching smile. I say, I do not like it at all!
The hollow jangle of wooden sticks rattling accompanied the rustling leaves and invisible bees. The entirety of Shad's woodland surroundings felt alive and charged with a powerful energy. Magical? Perhaps, but not any sort of magic Shad's minor ability could pick up.
Shad's mind was half-dizzy due to hyperventilation and the whole circumstances he was in seemed dreamlike. The scholar hoped that this was in fact just a dream, however previous hopes and so-called awakenings told him that his recent nightmares were far from mere dreams these days.
It was several moments before the sound rose high enough to be plainly audible but through the cacophonous trio of leaves, bees, and hollow wood, Shad heard a child's soft whispering chanting inappropriately serene gibberish that promised anything but harmless child's play.
Shad had to control his breathing. If he did not, he would without a doubt lose consciousness and Shad did not trust his safety with the grinning face that was now clicking its teeth together in crisp bites.
Calm yourself! Shad ordered himself. It may be awfully disturbing and ominous but it has not done anything to you. Yet. And perhaps it will not. The child's no-longer whispering and all too eager chanting rang in Shad's ears. The face, its teeth still clicking, drew closer to Shad. …However, by the Goddesses, it does seem keen on munching on you.
Please, please, Link... If you are alive, make haste!
The face was a mere inch or two away from Shad's. He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. The sound of its breathing was the same as the sound crumbling dead leaves in one's hand made and felt just as dry. He heard another click of its teeth and then one more and then heard nothing. No leaves, no bees, no wood, nothing. The forest was silent. Gradually, as his reassurance of his safety grew, Shad peeked an eye open. The face was gone. Without a sound and without a trace.
Shad sat up and looked about, finding no orange-red eyes and toothy grins but instead finding a golden light blazing through the darkness. A light that proved to possess a familiar draconian form as Link raced into clearer view. He was glad to know his assumptions had been correct—Link had indeed suffered no harm.
Link slid to a stop just below Shad's net of vines. The constant glow his body produced illuminated the area just like a lantern and forced the scholar to briefly look away until his eyes readjusted.
"I am quite all right, old boy, relatively speaking," Shad said, feeling rather foolish to learn he had been barely away from the ground. This was an instance where his cautious nature hindered rather than helped him.
Link rose onto his hind legs and bit through the vines. As Shad slipped through the gap, he prepared himself for the rough landing only to feel the slide of Link's tail wrap around his waist, carry him to the side, and set him gently on his feet.
With a thank you and a quick inquiry into Link's health and confirmation he was fine, they headed off on their way, Shad a little slower than Link. Didn't take a full step before Link noticed Shad's limp.
"Ah, yes, that," he said, unconcerned. "Just sore is all. No worries."
Link made a short growl in his throat and nodded to his back.
"As much as I appreciate the offer," Shad said, annoyance creeping into his voice, "I will not have you carry me at every possible moment, especially for any and every ordinary hurt. I realize my physical skills will never equate to yours, I say, however I will not be mollycoddled unnecessarily. Thank you but I am fine. Just require a tad walking off is all."
Shad had not meant to speak so sternly, and perhaps the pain in his step factored into his shortness, but he had. Link had meant well and his kind concern was appreciated and maybe Link's gesture had harked back to Shad of an old, unresolved frustration when he was with the Group, but Shad did not require to be carried. He refused to be a load. When situations fell out of his realm of capability, then perhaps consideration would be taken, but outside those circumstances, he would stand on his own two feet. Or walk, in this case.
As the only one between the two of them who knew the way, Shad followed Link's lead through the woods. Though his travels through Faron Woods mostly consisted of boyhood research expeditions with his father presented as father-son camping trips to his mother, who believed his father should have discarded his childish fancies upon his son's birth and preferred Shad have a gentleman's education, not a yokel's, Shad did not recall ever being in this branch of the forest. However, Link seemed quite familiar with it so that was well enough for Shad.
They reached a moss and ivy-coated fallen archway and torches mounted on either side of the entrance sparked ablaze at their arrival. Shad was positive now he had never been in this part of the forest, never seen any sort of ruins as these and pulled out his father's journal and writing tools eagerly.
For only a first quarter moon above, these woods were unusually well lit in soft silver-blue moonlight. The white tree trunks and pale footpaths reflecting the light gave the woods an eerie, ghastly quality. It was a beautiful place, the forest overgrowing the ancient ruins, the natural world assuming its dominance over Hylian design, but there was something inherently uncanny to their surroundings. Difficult to believe absolute perfection could be a flaw but there it was before Shad.
"Rusl once explained to me he was investigating sources that hinted to a possible virgin grove deep within the thick of Faron Woods," Shad said, still drinking in the majesty of their setting. "I surmise this is it, right?"
Link nodded.
"And no doubt you assisted him in locating it, just as you assisted me in Kakariko Village."
Again, Link nodded.
As I suspected, Shad thought, his lips pursed shut as he considered, and then said, "Once you have reclaimed your true form, old boy, I believe we should have a little chat over what other wonders and secrets of Hyrule you have managed to unearth. …We'll have tea."
The scholar followed Link and jotted down quick notes and sketches. Shad noticed Link walked slower, for what he presumed was to ease on Shad and allow him to keep pace. He also stared up and searched the trees quite frequently for some inexplicable reason. Shad checked the trees himself but had not seen anything, however he did not possess a dragon's senses either. Most likely, it was nothing. Just Link being cautious.
Except how often has the old boy ever been cautious? Shad wondered. I say, I know it is of my nature, however I have never been one to regard Link as particularly cautious. Not a trait one characterizes of a Hero…
Shad shot a final wary glance back up to the trees and then went on with his notes.
"Do you have any sort of inkling what this place might have been?" Shad asked, only to receive a no from Link.
Shad did not know for certain either but if he had to speculate, he supposed this might have been the former Forest Temple from the Hero of Time's age. Of course, this was all purely in theory, all academic. Though he thought he recognized a marking from a book detailing a researcher's expedition to the Temple…
Still it would be hard press to definitively determine and prove whether or not this was formerly the Forest Temple.
Shad turned back to his notes only to discover his father's journal completely missing from his hand. The scholar searched frantically about. His mind reeled in his disbelief as how he could have lost the book when it had been in his very hands. He had not even felt it slip from his grasp. This was unfathomable. This was catastrophic. His alert eyes darted from point to point, scouring every inch for sign of his father's journal.
Link also looked but his pace was more concise, his stare more firm, as if he was tracking, not searching. With a slight bend in stance, Link made a deep growl to grab Shad's full attention.
Following Link's line of sight, Shad at last saw it, the orange-red eyes and too many teethed grin, only it wasn't just eyes and a mischievous smile anymore. It was a gray-skinned creature clothed mostly in brown, giving it the impression of an autumn sprite, what with the colors it wore, the holey state of its clothes, and the orange and green leaves it wore about its large, crooked hat. Except it wasn't an autumn sprite. No, research told Shad it was a Skull Kid. And it had his father's journal.
The Skull Kid stood on a low branch, the journal tucked underneath its arm. It had his ornamental dagger out from its place and jabbed the air in a mock swordfight.
It was a rather funny creature, except that Shad did not find the danger it posed to his father's journal funny at all. It would be a trial to regain his book and dagger. Skull Kids were not evil, however they were not good either. They followed their own whims, forever a child, therefore susceptible to the same ignorance and cruelty of children. Considered unpredictable, chaotic and perpetual tricksters, books always advised to steer clear of any interaction with them. Shad, however, did not possess that course of action anymore.
Its faux battle won, the Skull Kid tucked the dagger away and proceeded to examine the journal. And by examine, it meant that the Skull Kid held the book upside-down by its hardcover and swung its fanned out pages from side to side.
"Please, stop…" Shad said, his voice quavering with his body, as he took a single step toward the Skull Kid. "You have no idea how important that book is to me. Please, you may keep the dagger but please, please, return to me my book."
The Skull Kid stared at Shad and merely grinned with far too many teeth than there should ever be allowed in a smile. It was impossible to interpret what sort of smile it was or whether the Skull Kid had even understood Shad, though he suspected it had. Too well.
Most merciful Goddesses, ever fair, wise, and powerful, please permit no harm to befall that journal… Shad prayed as the Skull Kid flipped back and forth through the pages once more, only this time in the proper manner.
The scholar raised a trembling hand up to his mouth and poised a fingernail between his teeth. Shad did not bite his nails. He merely placed his nails in the threat of being bit and worried.
The Skull Kid paused on a full-page sketch Shad did of an Oocca. Only drawings appeared to grab its attention and cause for a look, leading Shad to believe that the Skull Kid did not know how to read and to pity the young creature. Though he had the patience, if he had the time (and if the Skull Kid would behave and was a willing student), Shad would have been happy to teach it how.
Link growled at the Skull Kid, who only angled his stare toward him and continued on grinning naughtily, if not outright evilly, as it fingered through the journal. Link gave a series of barks and growls Shad could only hope were appealing to the Skull Kid's sense of reason and politely commanding it to return Shad's property.
A sense of reason Shad only wished it had and discovered it did not possess when he heard the first rip of a page. And then something inside Shad tore as well.
"You foul, despicable imp!" Shad shouted as the Skull Kid leapt off the branch and their chase began. "…Be cast back to the devil that spawned you!"
The pain in his ankle and side was immense, however Shad was not about to allow a pesky, trivial detail like that hinder him from reclaiming his father's journal. In blind pursuit of the Skull Kid, he was a young Hylian possessed by rage. Shad did not get angry. He felt its milder cousins—frustration and irritation—yes, but true anger he was disinclined to express, therefore he did not rage and did not know how to handle the feeling in the rare instance he did.
Over logs, between bushes, and up the peculiar stair-shaped hollowed trees, all around, over, and back again, Shad ran after the Skull Kid. From time to time, Shad would lose sight of the Skull Kid, only to have it pop out from the foliage or literally thin air and scare the wits out of him. The first time was an understandable fright. The fourteenth time, not so much.
Link was faster than Shad, not that it mattered. As soon as he came anywhere close to it, the Skull Kid vanished, leaving only a burst of leaves in its exit. Well, leaves and another torn out page of the journal. A stabbing pang of horror and revulsion shot through him as Shad scrambled to collect a page as it fluttered down toward water. There was no doubt about it now. The Skull Kid was an awful, vile creature. Shad renounced any desire to teach it how to read.
The Skull Kid was toying with him, both of them to be exact. They had chased it all across the forest to no luck and for who knew for how long. By now, Shad felt quite ill to his stomach as he clutched the six ripped pages of his father's journal to his chest. He was red-faced and winded. Plodding along as he could far behind Link in search of the blasted Skull Kid, he was exhausted. The impulsive rage that had guided his rush in the beginning had gave way to frustration and defeat.
His anger had also numbed some of his pain but as his clarity of mind returned so did the ache in folds. Unable to take another step, Shad sat down on a large tree stump. A moment to find his breath, he removed his boot and his argyle-patterned sock and examined his ankle. Just as he suspected, it was swollen and discolored a deep purple. The impact had left a contusion the size of a small fist on his ankle, and though he did not disrobe to inspect it, Shad suspected from his side's soreness that the contusion there was much greater.
There was a rustle in the bushes. Shad immediately tensed, thinking it was the Skull Kid preparing to terrorize him. He sighed in relief at the sight of Link padding toward him.
"Pardon me, old boy, however I am afraid I have exceeded my physical limitations at the present time," Shad said. "I presume no luck?"
Link nodded as he sat next to Shad and then instantly fixated and widened his eyes at his bruise. He looked at it, then at Shad, and made a questioning growl.
"I say, I told you it was nothing to worry about. It just twinges a bit is all, understandably given all the exertion it has endured," Shad said, smiling reassuringly. "Really, old boy, it looks worse than it is." Whether Link was convinced of that, it was impossible to tell.
Tired as well or simply giving him a break, Link laid down and wrapped the end of his tail gingerly around Shad's bruised ankle. The heat his body radiated was gentle and soothing. It would not heal him but it did make his ankle feel infinitely better.
Shad thought of his father's journal, no doubt forever lost to him in these woods. A knot curled in his stomach as he imagined its pages falling to the forest floor or rolling along caught in a breeze, no different than the leaves. Shad was upset. He reasoned to himself that of course he would be upset but it did not manage to lessen the wash of frustration, sadness, disappointment, and loss rushing through him.
Shad tipped his head upward, trying to hold back and obscure the tears misting his eyes from Link's view. No, he told himself not to cry in front of Link. He could not be certain he would understand the vast importance his father's journal meant to him and did not want to appear childish or anymore weaker than what the old boy most likely thought of him already. After all, Link would never cry over a book.
However, Link had probably never owned a book that was as much a valued resource as it was a final keepsake of a departed loved one's memory like Shad's father's journal was to him.
"I cannot calculate the hours and oil my father and then I burned acquiring and then recording notes and valued information in that sole journal. It is irreplaceable. So much time and effort lost in a wink, an instant of inattention—" Shad said before a hard corner made sudden, sharp, swift contact with the side of his head.
Wincing and biting back a swear, the scholar pressed his palm on the painful bump and turned to see what struck him. His father's journal, his dagger between its pages, lay on the ground. Shad immediately snatched it and pressed it protectively against his chest. A blasphemous thought or not, in that moment, Shad dared even a Goddess to try and rip his father's journal from his clutches.
It happened once, but never again, Shad promised.
Hearing its unmistakable laugh, he looked to the trees to find the ever-grinning Skull Kid dancing. "Let's play again," was all it said and vanished with one last 'tee hee' in a burst of leaves.
"Preferably never," Shad muttered, his tone contrasting with his smile as he gazed back onto his father's journal.
Torn pages aside, there did not seem to be much damage to the book, though ripping out pages was about the worst that could have been done. At least, the little monster did not break its spine, Shad thought. It possessed the minimum courtesy to not do that, unlike some so-called cultured Hylians I have been briefly acquainted with.
A few moments to place the removed pages and the dagger back where they individually belonged (and to, well, privately mourn the violation of his most personal property), Shad quickly deposited and secured his father's journal inside the hopeful safety of his rucksack.
"Well, that atrocious travesty of a distraction is over and done with," Shad smiled at Link. "Shall we proceed and venture on with your plan? Myself, I am eager to learn what has been locked in your head this entire little escapade of ours."
They both rose to standing. Link's heat had done marvels for Shad's ankle. It unquestionably did not hurt as much when he walked on it, though Link had still offered to carry Shad. The scholar wanted to get irritated but found it difficult. After all, when someone was well meaning, considerate, and generously offered another help, it was sort of difficult respond to that with anger, mild anger as it would be.
"Please, old boy, do not require me to repeat myself," Shad said, still smiling, as he laid a hand on the top of Link's head, the feather flames of his frill engulfing his hand in cozy sunlight. "Thanks to you, I am feeling much better. I will walk."
After all, he was determined to do so and so it would be done.
-o-
So things hadn't turned out as easy as Link thought it would. He had thought what with having wings, he would fly over, swoop down, and land in the Sacred Grove as simply and uncomplicated as if he teleported through the old Twili portal formerly above it. Too bad he didn't know about the barrier around the grove or that Midna's portal bypassed through it. Made sense after Link thought about it—was it really that unexpected that a place known as sacred would have magical defenses? Of course, the Master Sword wouldn't be solely protected by the Skull Kid.
Well, forethought wasn't his strongest suit. That seemed more like Shad's match. Link had always been more of a thinker of the present, coming up with whatever in the moment seemed right and going on with that, unless that failed then he went with the next logical choice and so on.
Still the Goddesses or any instrument of fate could have given him a warning about the barrier. He would have liked avoiding getting unnecessarily shocked and dropping like a Goron through the trees. And Shad wouldn't have gotten hurt either. The Goddesses were either watching over him then or the scholar was far luckier than he credited himself. Link was amazed to find out the scholar wasn't no more worse off than a badly bruised ankle, though Link suspected that wasn't all of his injuries—he could smell pain underlying his scent.
If I could find him some hearts or a red potion seller, that would help, Link considered, recalling that there was an odd bird nearby that sold red potion. But a fairy would instantly heal him. Link sniffed the air, trying to capture the wispy, sweet scent of a fairy but found nothing.
I can always find fairies at the spirit springs, he reminded himself. Not sure if I want to show up at one though. Seemed to Link like he would be walking into a trap. To catch a fox that had been killing the cucco, Rusl had made a simple wooden cage, placed food in it, and rigged it so the door would shut after it entered. Link imagined the Light Spirits doing about the same, only instead raising a barrier to lock him in and using the fairies as bait. Not sure if the Spirits would try a trick like that, but even so, Link was smarter than that and realized it wasn't even worth the risk to chance it.
Link laid on his stomach, enjoying the cool, dewy grass against his warm body (and resisted the urge to roll around it in) as he waited while Shad recorded the details of the Sacred Grove in his father's journal. With his sharper eyesight, he could see he was making a sketch of the Door of Time. Link smiled inwardly as he pictured Shad's reaction to if he knew what was behind that door. He considered telling him but then remembered his new form was strictly nonverbal and he wasn't quite sure how to act an explanation like that out. Link faked a sigh. That would just have to be a story for another day.
Shad thanked him for his patience, saying his studies were delaying Link's plans and retransformation. But Link didn't mind to wait. There was no big rush for him to return to normal, he felt, and there were some interesting perks to being a dragon, so if the scholar wanted to take a few minutes for exploration, that was okay with Link.
And when all the strange and wondrous things were noted, they headed toward the short ledge leading down to the rest of the grove. The ledge was easy enough for Link in any form to jump off but Shad would take a more delicate approach down. As they prepared to move on, Shad reminded Link that he was still capable of sliding himself down but Link didn't give him the time to protest and simply wrapped his tail around his waist, hoisted him up, and leapt down.
At last, they entered the inner grove and there was the Master Sword. Moonlight seemed to both be absorbed and reflected by the sword, its blade glowing an icy silver-blue.
"Ah, your sword!" Shad said. "I say, I believe I understand your plan now."
Coming for the Master Sword had been Link's first idea and the most logical to him. After all, the Master Sword would never allow evil to exist in its presence. Whatever curse was inside him, the sword would vanquish and Link would be restored to normal, just as with Zant's curse. It was that simple.
Link slowly approached the Master Sword's pedestal. He gave his final goodbyes to temporarily being a dragon, admitted that it had been fun but it was time he be himself again, and readied himself to endure a little bit of pain as his body reformed and resumed his Hylian self. Link shut his eyes.
And nothing happened.
Link stepped closer to the sword and still nothing happened.
He wrapped his tail around the hilt and pulled the sword out from its pedestal and nothing happened. In his disbelief, he dropped the Master Sword. The blade made a strident, abrasive clang as it hit the ground. Link stared down at the unresponsive sword, his flowing tail feathers lying still and flat.
Shad crouched down beside him. "As an integral component in your plan, I surmise something was supposed to happen."
It was supposed to. It worked the last time. Why doesn't it now? Link wondered as he laid down onto his stomach, laid his head down on the ground, and stared dejectedly at the Master Sword. This had been his one serious idea and he truly thought it was going to work. Now, he had nothing. Sure, he liked being a dragon, but that was back when he thought he was going to be changed back relatively soon. He could be a dragon forever. What if he was?
He could never go back to Ordon Village. He could never see his friends again. He could never see Ilia. They could never make up from their fighting, which seemed so stupid now.
We both said some awful things. And now we'll never get to apologize. Link made a quiet, airy whine.
"Cheer up, old boy. You gave it a good try. This just happens to be the wrong approach," Link peered up at Shad's hopeful smile as the scholar laid his hand on his head, "However do not worry. We will uncover the proper course to restoring you to yourself. If there is anything my life's work and our journey so far has taught me is that there are plenty of secrets our world has left to offer us."
Shad was right, of course. This couldn't be their only option. Link wouldn't be a dragon forever, not if he kept searching for a way back. He would only remain a dragon if he gave up and Link never gave up.
Link stood, feeling his glow brighten back in his body and smile, and nudged Shad's shoulder with his snout as his equivalent to a pat in thanks.
"And in the meantime," Shad said, "we will bring this along."
The moment his fingers touched the Master Sword, the silver-blue glow of its blade pulsated ominously. An arc of electricity zapped Shad's hand, forcing the scholar, shouting in pain, to retract his hand immediately.
"S-Should have thought as much," Shad said, working his fingers out from their spilt-second paralysis. "Clearly, your sword wishes nothing to do with me. Reasonable of it, I suppose, to desire someone with the capability and heart to wield it. Absolutely that is someone not like me."
Shad held the scabbard as Link slipped the sword inside. He secured the sword to his rucksack, making second and third checks to make sure the sword was tied properly.
"My only fear with traveling with this," Shad said as he put back on the sack, flashing the Master Sword a wary glimpse over his shoulder, as he followed Link, preparing to head out of the Sacred Grove once they were free of the barrier," is the back of my head somehow hitting the hilt and getting accidentally zapped again. It would be my luck, old boy."