Time considered it a new record. It took about five minutes before any of the heroes voiced out the first complaint. It was Wind who broke down first, given that the selkie was more used to the climate of his era, despite the majority of his race living in the cold regions. Legend came second, and then the rest of their resident fae - all three preferred a warmer temperature than Snowpeak could offer. The others were either resistant or prepared, but the elder werewolf knew it was a matter of time before they started complaining too.

"How long will it take to get there, Rancher?"

Their host and navigator morphed back to human at the front of the group. Twilight squinted ahead of them, hoping to see the humongous visage of Snowpeak Ruins at a distance. "A day," He answered the Captain. "Earlier, if we don't run into trouble."

"Great." Legend scowled. "Just great. I'm going to freeze my tail long before we reach our destination."

"You're not even transformed right now, Vet."

"If I were, I would have smacked that face of yours." The merman hissed. The vampire should be glad his teeth were less sharp than his real form's. Otherwise, he would have bitten an idiot's hand by now. "Must be nice being immune to the cold."

"Nah," Warriors replied with a slight shrug. "That's just an assumption. We just have high resistance to extreme temperatures. Otherwise, we won't be able to feel anything."

A smirk curled on the Veteran's lips. "Dumb and numb?" He said. "What a combination."

"Hey!"

"Keep it down, will you?" Twilight scolded. "We don't want to risk an avalanche. And strap that shield, Wild. No shield-surfing. We're not going to spend an entire hour trying to get you out of the snow."

The said dragon stuck his forked tongue as he re-attached his shield on his back. "Killjoy."

"I could hear you!"

Sky sidled beside the Champion. The lower part of his jaw was illuminated in a light pink and green glow from the Hyrule's wings. Four was nearly hidden within the harpy's sailcloth - the only visible part of the brownie was his blond hair. The two fae had decided the Skyloftian was the perfect heater for the rest of the hike and slipped into his sailcloth. The Chosen Hero did not seem to mind and had lifted one wing above him to protect the two from the falling snow.

"You should cut him some slack." The harpy said. "His fur will turn gray early because of you."

Wild grinned wickedly. "That's the plan." He admitted. "I honestly think gray will suit Twilight. If not, we could just dye it back to its original color.

"Make it pink!" Wind giggled as he ran up behind Wild and clung to his tail. His coat was out and hung on his form like an oversized dress. "It will go well with his eyes."

The Hero of the Wild lifted his tail towards him, allowing the Sailor to climb into his waiting arms. Magic rippled around the latter's form like moonlit waves of the ocean, and a young seal of brown and gray emerged and made himself comfortable in the dragon's arms. Wild might lack the thick fur that Time and Twilight have or Sky's soft feathers, but he was naturally warmer than most of them.

The Champion chortled as he booped the selkie's nose. "Pink, it is, then."

Time chuckled at the younger heroes' conversation, earning him a look of utter betrayal from his descendant. What could he do? The image of a murderous pink-furred Twilight was too good to pass up. Perhaps, he could allow it this time just to satisfy his own curiosity. It was not every day he would let himself indulge in a bit of mischief.

Time heard Wild's footsteps pause, and he looked back to see what had happened. The dragon was staring at the cloudy sky; his ears twitched slightly as if listening to something. The elder werewolf knew better - he had come to pick up the other heroes' eccentricities when it came to their kind. He could tell the Champion was not listening to just anything - he was listening to nature itself.

"There's going to be a blizzard," Wild announced. "We should look for a shelter tonight."

"How long will it last?"

The Hero of the Wild tilted his head. "Mmm…" He hummed as he listened more. "Starts in three hours. Lasts until dawn."

Time needed no convincing. He turned to address Twilight. "Pup?"

The Rancher scanned the white horizon and sniffed the air. The scents in the frigid wasteland were mainly muted, but he had learned to pick up on what was hidden beneath the dull facade long ago. "There should be some caves further ahead. Should not take us an hour to reach one. We'll have to clear the area first before we settle down. There's a lot of Wolfos and Keese living here."

"Ah." Warriors could not resist a smirk. "So, we're about to meet your and Time's relatives. A sword on the neck isn't a good impression, you know."

The non-werewolf heroes snorted and snickered at that while Twilight glared at the vampire. "Don't lump us with them, Captain. There are a lot of differences between werewolves and Wolfos, you know."

"Oh?" The Hero of Warriors raised an eyebrow. "Then, how about wolves? You know, the ones that our dear Champion likes to hunt for food."

If Time had a weaker sense of hearing, he would not have heard Wild gasp. He could tell that he was deeply offended by the notion that he 'likes' to hunt instead of doing so for survival. Twilight had told him before he and the Champion once argued about his hoarding habit, especially regarding food. The latter revealed that he could sense the animals' souls and intentions and only went for those who willingly offered themselves or were too old to produce offspring. The chases were for show only - it would be strange for any onlooker to see an animal walk up to a person only to be taken down without a fight. Plus, Wild made sure not to waste any portion - it was his way of showing respect for their sacrifice for his sustenance.

Wild opened his mouth to refute the vampire's testament, but the elder werewolf beat him to it. The latter decided it would not be a good time to let any quarrel break out, no matter the severity of the root cause. "Captain," He started. "As much as I want to clarify the differences between the three, our priority is to find shelter from the coming blizzard. Let's focus on that first, shall we? Then, we could discuss food poisoning later."

The vampire was confused for a second before finally noticing the look the Champion was giving him. Warriors might like to tease, but he knew better than to mess with the group's cook. One experience with a bottle of Goron Spice was more than enough. "Right…" Then, he leaned to the side and whispered to Legend. "Remind me not to take off my eyes on Wild while he's serving my food."

The Veteran rolled his eyes at him. Being the caring person he was, he hastened his pace. "Good luck. I'm not paying for your funeral…." He paused, looked back, and smirked at him. "Oh, wait. Vampires turn to ashes when they die, right? Well, isn't that convenient? That means fewer expenses for us."

"Oh, you little -" Warriors swore that he would throw the merman back to the ocean he came from one of these days. "That's the second time this hour!"

Legend waved him off. "You want to tie the score? Get on my level then, Pretty Boy."

The Veteran did not hear the vampire's reply as he strode to Sky's side. He did not need to voice his request - the harpy could perfectly read it in his body language. The latter welcomed him to seek shelter under his other wing, and Legend muttered his thanks despite the flush of embarrassment on his cheeks. Sky simply smiled in response and focused back on the path without a word.

The heroes continued their trek in relative silence. Their eyes scanned the horizon once Twilight announced they had entered the monsters' territory. Once or twice, they would spot a lone Wolfos roaming the area, and the younger werewolf would growl a clear warning. Leave us or face the consequences. His message was quickly received, and the monster stepped back and retreated. It did not attempt to challenge the Rancher's intimidating display, probably because it was not the first time the hero had passed by this place and confronted them.

They arrived at a cave large enough to shelter the nine heroes from the incoming blizzard. Warriors, Twilight, and Wild volunteered to check the perimeter as the others set up camp. Sky passed Four and Hyrule to Legend and shook off the snow accumulated on him. His crest and feathers puffed up at the quick movements, much to Time's amusement. The harpy looked like an angry owl whenever his feathers were ruffled like that, making him appear larger than he really was. They flattened quickly, and Sky joined the werewolf in building a campfire.

"We should ask the Wild to craft those Sapphire Circlets for them." The harpy suggested, gesturing at the huddle of cold-intolerant heroes in one corner. "It would be helpful for them to withstand the cold, especially during a fight."

Sparks ignited between the flintstones and touched the pile of wood arranged in a pyramid. It took less than a minute for the fire to grow and illuminate the darker corners of the cave. Time glanced at the other heroes, and he could not help but smile at the sight. Wind had plopped himself on Legend's lap as the latter wrapped himself with the thickest blanket he could find. Four and Hyrule peeked beneath the Veteran's cap, conversing something about their fellow fae they had the chance to meet from the previous era. The other two heroes seemed uninterested in the topic and were simply satisfied with not being pelted with snow.

The elder werewolf turned his attention back to the Chosen Hero. "Let's ask him once we get in his era." He said. "Wild was frustrated earlier that he didn't have enough ingredients to make Spicy Elixirs. We should shop in Pup's Castle Town once we're done here."

"Let's hope they sell oil I could put on my wings. I'm almost out of it."

"Tell the others to list what they need," Time told the harpy. "I'll go through it before we shop. I don't want a repeat of someone blowing their money on cursed artifacts."

Sky grimaced at that. Hyrule and Wind once bought an odd amulet out of curiosity and accidentally switched Warriors and Twilight in their bodies. It was total chaos, with the two stuck together all the time and trying to stop each other from doing stupid things until they returned to their own bodies. Wind and Wild had captured embarrassing photos of that time and kept them as blackmail material in the future. It was a good thing they managed to find the shop owner who sold the artifact and reversed the curse before it became permanent.

"I will."

Time nodded gratefully and rose from his seat on the hard ground with a bit of difficulty. He really was not young and spry as he used to be - his joints creaked and ached after the day's labors, and he sometimes woke up to muscle pains whenever he slept wrong. The cold also settled easier into his bones than back then, so he preferred to shift during the colder seasons.

The Hero of Time did quick work with his armor and set them aside before calling forth the wolf within. He crouched down on all fours as wolven magic rippled through his body. Thick and coarse fur of sunshine gold and snow white covered his once-human skin, and triangular ears pricked up atop his head. His tail swished languidly as he tested his balance on his paws and let the tension of the transformation bleed from his muscles.

The others perked up at the sudden swell of magic in the air and glanced at their de facto leader. Time padded towards the pile of heroes and nudged Legend with his nose to move. The merman huffed and scooted to give the elder werewolf enough space to wriggle in. The latter lay on his stomach behind him and curled around the heroes like a living pillow. He gently bit on the Veteran's tunic and pulled the hero down on his body, much to the man's initial annoyance.

However, Legend did not attempt to get out of their furry cage but simply made himself comfortable because he would be damned if he did not take advantage of the warmth offered to him. Four and Hyrule made their way down and dove right into Time's thick fur like a pair of divers. Wind grunted softly, utterly content with curling on the Veteran's lap but still appreciating the additional warmth. It did not take a while before someone was snoring away, and Sky left the campfire and joined the comfortable pile of heroes.

Time did not know when and how long he had fallen asleep. Dread was the one that jumpstarted him to complete consciousness - a part of him told him they were vulnerable right now. He would have risen and taken on patrol despite the blizzard raging outside to appease the protective wolf within when he felt something shift atop him.

The alarm drained away from his form as his eyes landed on the sight of the eight heroes cuddling and sleeping peacefully against him. They were safe. They were alive. There was nothing to worry about. He nuzzled his nose on his transformed descendant, who whined and swatted him gently in his sleep. The fear in his heart was appeased and replaced with endearment for the young heroes. If this was the first thing that would greet him every waking time, then the elder werewolf did not mind.

Time would do whatever it took to protect his pack.

AU Lore #3:

Here, the werewolves take three forms: human, quadruped wolf, and bipedal wolf forms. In human form, they look like your standard humans, except with sharper canines and nails. They can utilize basic abilities like keen senses of smelling and hearing and inhuman physical strength. Their quadruped wolf forms are similar to ordinary wolves and Wolfos, though larger - cases of them being mistaken as food or monsters are common across eras. These often result in dangerous altercations between werewolves and other races.

Lastly, their bipedal wolf forms are known as primal forms. This form can only be assumed in highly stressful situations or under certain conditions, allowing the werewolf to utilize their abilities to the greatest extent. However, they also lose reason, thus going berserk and will attack anyone - friend or foe. It is urged not to get near or run away should one encounter a primal werewolf.