A/N: I have forgotten to say this earlier: The picture I have in use is from dA by an artist lychi and the picture's name is just simply Zelda. I'm sorry that I forgot to inform this important piece of information. T.T

Also, another note: I do NOT own the characters or places unless said otherwise. Nintendo has the rights. =P Honestly speaking, all I have is the idea for the story, few monsters, creatures and bit of changing the places. Oh, and couple of OCs here and there. ^^; I'm certain everyone can figure out which belongs to me and which doesn't. =)

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Summary: Dark has had couple of pets in his life. One he had to give away but the other one he got to keep... Until the little pet got a life of her own.

Information: Sorry that I've been gone for very long time. I'm lacking on chapters. =( Haven't been active around here but I have uploaded several stories into DeviantArt. They're not CaH related but it has Dark and Link and SDP's Dark. =) Give them a check.

And... HAPPY BIRTHDAY SDP! I hope you enjoy this story as much as the other one. =)

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Enjoy the chapter! ^.^

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SITUATIONS FROM THEIR LIVES

CHAPTER 14: Pets of the dark Hylian

Dark had left the castle early that day. He left a short note for Link to the Hero's night table about going out to the field. The dark Hylian had taken along his weapons just in case even though there really rarely came up any of monsters. He didn't take Storm along since he wanted to just walk and enjoy the warm summer day.

Dark wasn't fond of water... At least not of the deeper waters since before he learned to swim he learned to drown and he really hated that part. Yet, he still enjoyed the sound of the waves crashing into the shore as well as the slight sound of rivers. This was the reason he followed the small stream close to the Kokiri Forest.

The dark Hylian stopped at the edge of the woods and sat down. He closed his eyes and listened to the nature around him while enjoying the warmth of the starting day. Dark had taken bit of snack along but other than that he was willing to check the forest for possible berries and fruits that Link had taught him to find.

Dark hadn't been at his choice of place for less than couple of hours when slight cry of an animal in trouble caught his notion. The dark Hylian frowned and sat up while trying to figure out where the cries came from. Eventually he stood up and ventured into the forest behind him all the while following the stream.

The closer he got to the place, the more clearer the calls were and he could realize that the animal in trouble was a cat. The meowing was frightened and sad but it also was mixed with the sound of the stream. After a short trek further, Dark found a small white kitty clinging to a slippery rock in middle of the stream and meowing miserably.

The dark Hylian hesitated only for a second before already venturing into the stream. "It's okay, kitty-cat. I'm coming. Just hang on for a while longer. You'll be safe in no time." He kept on talking calmly and gently to the small cat in hopes of helping. The stream started to get bit stronger which got him to slide a bit along with it. "Damn it..." Dark thought and called out the iron magic into the boots to keep himself fighting against the current while moving forward.

Eventually he got to the small cat and picked it up. The kitty gave very miserable and startled meow before already pulling its claws out. It didn't fight back, instead it struck its claws into the dark Hylian's tunic to hold on for its dear life. Dark held onto to the small cat and started to head back to where he had come from. Once on dry land he took the iron magic off and walked out of the forest and back into the field.

At there the dark Hylian sat down and started to dry the little ball of fur. The small kitty was first just meowing but that soon turned into cute little purr. Dark chuckled a bit but he was smiling as the little animal was calming down.

The Half-Shadow remembered the time Link had shown him just born kittens and given the book about cats. That book had provided him with the knowledge that he currently didn't have what the little kitty needed. For his luck the LonLon Ranch wasn't far. And that was his next destination once the little white furball was dry.

Dark held the small cat close to his chest. He smiled as the kitty quietly purred while not paying any of attention into the small claws holding on to his black tunic. After the shortish walk into the LonLon Ranch's area, the dark Hylian chose his way straight into the stables where the place's owner's daughter usually was at. Malon pretty much knew everything about animals, horses especially but other creatures too.

Dark entered the stables and knocked on the wooden wall in inside. "Malon? Are you here?" He called while looking around. The stables seemed to always be bit dimly lit but it didn't bother him. His eyes were much quicker in getting used to the different light.

"OH! Dark!" The young woman called bit surprised while coming out from one of the stables. "What brings you here?" She inquired while smiling happily. Dark smiled while keeping his blush down as he walked closer to her.

"This little fella." The dark Hylian answered while gently taking the animal off of him and offering the kitty towards Malon. "Found it from slight trouble in middle of a stream. And, well..." He continued before shrugging slightly. "I don't really know how to look after this kitty." The Half-Shadow confessed.

Malon chuckled but little squealed at the white kitty. "Awww! He's so cute!" She told while gently taking the little furball from Dark. "I'll show you how to look after him. On that way you'll know how handle things." The young woman told with a wide smile. "Since he's still so young, he'll only eat milk for now." She instructed while giving the little animal back to the Half-Shadow as she worked out a bottle of milk and a small bowl.

Very soon the duo was watching with a smile as the kitty was lapping the milk. Dark barely even realized when Malon stood up and started to look around the stables. His whole notion was in the blue-eyed white furred kitty. That was the reason the dark Hylian was startled as the young woman came back.

"Since you are going to look after him, you'll be needing these." She told while presenting the items she had been searching for. In her hands was few bottles of milk, a similar small bowl and couple of toys. Malon smiled happily. "I'm sure you know what to do with these, right." She inquired with a slight tease in her voice. Dark blushed a bit but nodded. Yet, his blush brightened as the woman chuckled a bit.

At the evening, Dark left the LonLon Ranch. Malon had given him all the information she could on the topic of how to look after a small kitty. The dark Hylian had listened very carefully and he was pretty certain he knew what to do and how. Though, would he end up with a problem, he could always come back for help.

For the Half-Shadow's luck, the little kitty had fallen asleep as he returned to the castle. He was bit hoping to avoid crashing with people and even more so of the white furball not waking up. "So far, so good." Dark thought as he got to the door of the room he shared with Link. Yet, that was as far as his luck would carry him.

"I thought you told that you'd be back for evening meal. At least." Came bit of an disappointed voice of the Hero on the moment the dark Hylian entered the room. Dark stopped dead on his tracks while gulping once and turning his bit of a sheepish look into Link. He had fully hoped for the Hero to have been asleep by now.

"I... Um..." Dark started while trying to keep the kitty and all of the things hidden. "Lost the track of time...?" He continued with a voice that fully told he had just come up with the excuse instead of having thought it out before.

"Dark... Don't lie to me." Link stated bit sternly while sitting up. Unlike with Dark, his eyesight wasn't as good as the Half-Shadow's was in dim light. "Where have you been?" The Hero continued while trying to stay calm.

"Um... At the field, bit in the forest and then at the LonLon Ranch before coming back." Dark answered. He was fully grateful of the easy inquiry since there was no need to lie about that part.

Link frowned a bit while feeling like he shouldn't put up the next question. "LonLon Ranch? What were you doing at there?" The Hero inquired while getting bit uncertain of what it could mean.

Dark shrugged while still staying by the door. "It's one of the few places where I can be close to animals. You know I like them." He answered with the honest answer but also with the words Link already knew. Right after the dark Hylian had ended his second sentence, the little kitty in his arms gave out a little mew.

Link had first nodded in full thought of leaving the inquiring there but as the small cat gave himself out, the Hero deadpanned. "And seemingly decided to bring one of the said animals back home too." He stated before groaning and facepalming as he crashed back down to the bed back first. "How many times have I told to you, Dark, not to bring animals into here?"

Dark ended up looking extremely sheepish as he walked to the bed and sat down. "Um... More times than needed?" He suggested while putting the given things into his night table. Link sighed bit exaggerated but he sat back up when he heard the little purring that the kitty was doing.

"So, where did you find that little purring machine?" The Hero asked while reaching out to gently scratch the kitty behind the ear. The small cat purred a bit louder and moved his head bit towards the touch. Link smiled slightly while trying to deny how the feline was already melting his heart.

"He's the reason I was at the forest in the first place. He had somehow gotten into middle of a stream. He was clinging to a rock and mewing so desperately." Dark started his explanation and continued from there how he had rescued the kitty and taken him into the LonLon Ranch. "So, um... Thought I could look after him." The dark Hylian ended with slightly hopeful tone in his voice.

Link sighed heavily and shook his head. "I'm sorry to say this, Dark, but you should've left him at the LonLon Ranch. We're not able to look after a small kitty that's needing looking after whole time." He started sorrowfully. "You know we're here very rarely and sometimes we might not even visit at here for several days." The Hero continued while pulling away. The small cat was stirring up memories he'd rather forget.

Dark sighed heavily and nodded. "I understand." He half mumbled while looking at the little kitty sorrowfully. "But at least until I've found a good home for him? Please?" The dark Hylian continued with slightly hopeful voice.

Link sighed and nearly facepalmed. He couldn't deny Dark from looking after the kitty for that time but he also had a fear of him using that as an excuse to have the kitty longer with them. "Fine. But only as long as it takes to find a home for the cat." Link stated before giving stern look to the dark Hylian. "And we'll have the next rules up. One, you look after the cat. Two, you clean after it. And three... The kitty sleeps on the floor." He commanded.

Dark nodded at the first two before whining about the third. "Awww! But the floor's too cold for him! A-and what about him ending up stepped on!" He worried while holding the kitty close to his chest. Link sighed heavily and facepalmed.

"And what about the kitty getting squished by us?" He inquired and glanced at his Shadow. Yet, the darker Hylian was already making a place for the kitty to sleep in... On the bed. "Dear Goddesses, please, let the kitty survive through the next nights..." The Hero begged while laying back down and keeping his back to the duo.

During that night neither of the two Hylians slept much because of the fear of hurting the little kitty in the bed. Yet, that small creature was the one who woke the dark Hylian up by licking at his face. Link woke up into Dark's quiet chuckling. The Hero couldn't help but smile as he listened to the praises the Half-Shadow was giving to the purring feline.

A while later Link left the bed to get ready for the day while Dark still played with the kitty. The dark Hylian turned around when the Hero came back into the room. "Hey Link... I think I know a good name for this kitty." He started and hid his grin into the white fur of the small cat. Link had a feeling of dread as he simply nodded to show he was listening. "I was thinking to name him... Link." Dark told out while grinning very widely.

Link groaned and sat down to a chair. "You will not name the cat after me." He stated straight off. Dark whined and gave slight puppy-dog-eyes.

"Aww! Why not?" He inquired and came over to the table and carefully placed the small cat on it. "Just look at him! He's like you! And even having blue eyes!" The dark Hylian tried to reason.

"No, no and no." Link told with bit of a stern voice. "That cat will not be named as me."

"It'll be a huge honor." Dark tried but the look on Link's face changed the darker Hylian's look into very sheepish one. Eventually the Half-Shadow sighed bit exaggerated. "Fine. I'll come up with something else..." He half mumbled before whispering very quietly: "Meanie."

For the next few days things seemed to go well. Dark was showing the kitty around the Market as well as taking very good care of the small cat. Link actually liked to see the dark Hylian smiling but he knew it couldn't last. For his Shadow's sake he told about the cat to Princess Zelda. The Hero didn't request it at all but she eventually gave few days long mission. Dark didn't know about the length of the mission as didn't Link but the Hero had his suspicions up about it.

When they finally came back three days later, the dark Hylian suddenly remembered something he should've kept in his mind whole time. "Kitty!" He shouted in near terror and started to run towards the castle. Link ran after him as Dark dashed through the castle and into their shared room.

The Half-Shadow stopped dead on his tracks after opening the door. In middle of the room was sitting Princess Zelda and she was playing with the small white kitty. "Y-Your Highness?" Dark called in both shock and worry.

Zelda stood up carefully while making sure the cat was safe. "Dark Link." She replied with stern, yet somehow gentle voice. "If the Hero had not informed me about this cat, it would currently be in very bad shape." The Princess told the facts out bit coldly.

Dark gulped and dropped his gaze down while bit slumping and letting his ears droop. "Y-yes, Your Highness... I-I am aware of that..." He replied bit ashamed.

"This is not a place for a small kitty, Dark Link." Zelda stated and Dark just simply nodded. "Either you give the cat to the stable worker or then you find the cat a home from somewhere else. I do not have the time to look after kittens." She continued and the dark Hylian nodded again while staying silent.

Link nodded to Zelda as she left and he went next to Dark before already circling his arm around the Half-Shadow's shoulders. "Dark, bro, I've told you before and I tell it again. No matter how much I'd like us to have a pet, we just simply don't have the time to look after an animal that needs our notion and care. And a small cub is even more vulnerable for this kind of situations." He started bit sorrowfully. Dark still stayed silent but he was listening.

The small kitty walked over to the dark Hylian and looked up to him while meowing quite cutely. Dark smiled a bit and carefully sat down. "I'm sorry, kitty." He whispered while picking the cat up and hugging him. "I'm so sorry."

After that incident, the small kitty got a good home from a family which lived at the Market. Dark didn't want to break his connection into the cat but he knew it might be best if he did. For few days the dark Hylian was really missing the kitty but he knew this was for the best. And before he knew, he and Link were already handling another long mission and it was best that he didn't need to worry for a little kitty at the time.

Later that summer the dark Hylian was walking around Lake Hylia. He accidentally found a bird's nest. On quick glance all of the eggs had already hatched and the family wasn't anywhere near to be seen. Dark carefully took a closer look and actually found an intact egg. Suddenly the egg shook a bit and startled the Half-Shadow. He blinked few times as he thought to have seen wrongly but soon the egg shook again.

It didn't take long before the small duckling broke a piece of the white egg off. Dark gasped but he was too mesmerized to move away. He watched how the small creature broke free and opened its small eyes. Very soon it gave out a quiet quack. The dark Hylian chuckled a bit and looked around. He needed to find the bird's real family but unfortunately he didn't see any of birds around whom could be this fella's family.

Dark knew better than to touch the bird. Link had taught him on that part but as he was trying to leave, the duckling followed him. The Half-Shadow tried to get the yellow bird with brown stripes to stay put but it whole time just followed him. "Link's going to kill me for this..." Dark thought with slight deadpan as he picked the bird up and headed back to the castle.

Surprisingly the Hero didn't get angry at the dark Hylian. Instead he seemed bit disappointed and worried. "I think I have told you at some point that birds have this little thing which gets them to think that the first thing they see is their parent." Link started before sighing. "And seemingly this fella saw you as the first thing when she hatched." He concluded. The Hero sighed again and shook his head. "This means that you have to look after that small creature or otherwise it ends up dead one way or another." He told while fully dreading the thought of taking care of a small bird. He sure as hell was NOT worried about Dark's ability of looking after the duckling. He was only worried for the duckling's life in overall as it would be following Dark everywhere.

As it ended to be the small duck was following the dark Hylian into bathroom, through the hallways, into the Market and, most dreadfully, into the missions. And sorrowfully, the bird didn't let Link anywhere near her. She pretty much started to quack nonstop, flap her tiny wings and trying to run away until Link either put the bird back down or Dark picked her up. The little duckling didn't let anyone else feed her either.

Dark was whole time trying to keep the small bird in his pocket as they were checking some dungeon, old ruins, temple or just some specific area. There had been few close calls when the bird had nearly ended running into molten lava. That had freaked both of the Hylians out quite harshly. Luckily the duckling got off without harm at then. And then there was the times when the small animal tried to help in a fight by biting and just getting the bad guy's notion into herself. Yet, both Dark and Link were more worried for the duckling to get hurt or killed at then.

As the time went by, the duck grew up. And the most fun scene was when Dark tried to teach the bird to fly. Running around and flapping his arms up and down. Link had lot of fun watching the teaching. Yet, the luck had it that the bird learned to fly. And she did learn to find her own food too. Though, that was more of the Hero's back-up on it since he first taught the info to the Half-Shadow whom taught it to the bird.

Yet, with all that learning came parting. The duck found a mate from Lake Hylia. Dark knew it was for the best but it still hurt as he realized that the duck wanted to spend most of her time at the Lake instead of following him. Once the late autumn reached Hyrule, most of birds, ducks along, left to warmer areas... And so did the duck he had raised.

Dark had kept himself intact on that day so he wouldn't hurt the duck but at the next day, he broke down. Link kept holding him while reassuring that everything would be alright. He couldn't promise for the female duck to come back but he kept telling to hold on to that hope. At least the dark Hylian had his memories of the duck.

And one of those little memories was when Dark had tried to adopt a brown bunny too. He had been looking after the white kitty at then as the kitty's family had needed visit at a place where animals weren't allowed. So, the dark Hylian had taken the small cat and the duckling into the field. He had put the duck on top of a wooden fence's pole while knowing that the little fella couldn't really get hurt if she fell. The kitty was pretty much trying to play off with the bandages on his hands since he wasn't having his gauntlets on at that day. And then the little bunny had come over.

When Link had come to check on him, he found Dark playing with all three. As soon as the dark Hylian noticed the Hero, he already gave the puppy-dog-eyes while inquiring if he could keep the bunny too. Unfortunately Link had told stern No.

Winter came forth as did Christmas. Dark missed the duck quite a much. He still thought about the white kitty now and then but in the end he hadn't created such strong bond which he had to the bird. When the spring came forth, the dark Hylian spend most of his time at Lake Hylia and waited for the ducks to come back.

As the birds were returning, Dark tried to find his protégé from all of them. Link tried to calm him down while telling that it wasn't easy to know one from the other. Yet, the dark Hylian didn't listen. He didn't believe the Hero's words and kept telling he'd know the bird once he'd see her.

Two months after the first birds had come and still nothing. Dark already feared for the worst but he tried to tell himself that maybe the place, wherever that was, was what she needed. Safety, lot of food and home. Maybe she didn't miss him. Maybe she was fully happy where she was. Still, the dark Hylian did want to know what had happened.

Few days later and the Half-Shadow woke up to very familiar quacking. He straight off shouted the bird's name and shot up from the bed. Dark ran to the window and opened it up. The female duck flew into the room while quacking happily. The dark Hylian hugged the bird gently but firmly.

Link woke up to the quacking and shuffling. He was bit confused at first but soon he smiled as he realized the scene. "Told you she's alright." The Hero half whispered but the dark Hylian wasn't really paying attention into him.

The bird didn't stay long. Yet, it was clear she was asking Dark to follow her. After that she flew out of the room and continued her road. The Hero's Shadow changed clothes in record time, dashed out of the castle and rode to Lake Hylia very swiftly. Link followed him but on slower pace.

Once Dark was at the lake and off of Storm's back, he already rushed to the shore. It didn't take long before the female duck swam to him. Her husband followed her. The Half-Shadow put the male duck's outlook and quacking sounds into memory so he'd recognize him from everywhere.

Few months later the duo met with Dark again at the Lake. This time there was five ducklings following her. The dark Hylian had been nearly on daily basis at the Lake but seeing and getting to know the ducklings, was the best day in his life.

With the autumn the duck family left again. But, like during the first year, the female visited at Dark's and Link's room to give her goodbyes for the winter. Even though the parting hurt a bit, the dark Hylian knew she'd come back with her family at the next spring.

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If you check SDP's DeviantArt page (carrie-j), you can find two pictures for this story. The first one is called Dark's kitten and the second one is Dark's Pets. =)

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A/N: So, review, please! =D Even anonymous ones are accepted but if you got a account in here or at DeviantArt, inform of the penname so I can leave a review reply! Otherwise the review reply will be on my profile page or in the next chapter! Thank You!

Still in working:
1) Do a drawing from one of my stories and I'll write you a story OR I can give bit of preview from upcoming chapters or next stories. =)
2) Send questions to Dark and/or Link! Also, other characters will be answering if you want to send a question for them! =)