Luminescence

Brother Sun

Link felt his blood run cold. Something very, very bad had just happened. He could feel it in his gut, and his gut had not been wrong yet.

Zelda looked to him, the red of her flushed face showing through the amber cast of twilight. Her eyes were tense with apprehension.

"What do we do now?"

He snapped his jaws at the question. How was he suppose to know? How was he even suppose to answer? He was a wolf, for crying out loud! And until true, complete light returned to the land, he would remain so. His excitement of returning to this old form had long melted away. Now he just sat frustrated. If only Midna were here. She always had some random suggestion to give to him. The thought gave him a stomach ache.

"Link, I think they might have been after that poor Luna girl, not us. Though why the shadow creatures still attacked us in the hall I cannot begin to guess why. Could they have just been on an assassin mission and we just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Why did she keep asking him that? Of course he had already figured something along the lines of that, but even if he had an answer he couldn't give it. She didn't seriously expect him to respond, did she? Unaware of his thoughts, she kept talking.

"For if they had really wanted us, they could have followed us. I was sure there were at least a hundred of them coming after us, though one is never accurate in the rush of the moment. Unless she had somehow figured out a way to stop all of them from following...I really can't say. From what I gather, no one is really sure of what she is capable of."

But at this thought he couldn't help remembering how hurt she had been after just an encounter with three Twili and how clumsily she had handled his sword. Even then she had been exhausted afterwards. If she had had the ability to stop a hundred of them, surly it would have been easy enough, amnesia or not, to take care of only three.

His head hurt. With a whine he lowered it to put his paws over his eyes and muzzle. Yep. This was definitely one of those weeks. If he had for some reason brought Ilia along it could've ended up worse, so at least he could be grateful for that.

He sighed to himself. What happened to all his excitement? With twilight all in a mess here, surly Midna would appear eventually, wouldn't she? Unless she too was in as much trouble as the moon spirit and was confined somewhere. In that case, he was doomed. He could try sniffing through the desert for her palace, but how would he get there? Without Midna there couldn't be any transportation, nor could he blast himself over in a canon (which he was partially grateful for as well. Canon's were the least comfortable way to go and every time he got a nose bleed from it that wouldn't stop for hours—not to mention a good skid into the sand).

Twilight wasn't nearly as good as he had imagined. Especially without Midna. He had also seriously underappreciated the ability to turn into a man at will.

And now poor, innocent Luna...

Another high pitched whine escaped him. Zelda called out his name uncertainly, concerned, but he made no move to respond. For a few minutes they sat there, not really saying anything to each other (especially on his part). The earth kept shedding black flecks and the occasional black cloud drifted across the sky. Once or twice he was tempted to paw over to the large stone eastern bridge and peer over the edge at the water. Water had always been a source of contemplation for him, and he needed a good thinking now more than ever, for Luna had to be dead. The thought filled him with a sickly, acidic sense of dread and something agonizing. He hadn't even gotten the chance to know her. And she had been so willing to accept him, to befriend him...

I know you, Link. You are why I am here.

Somewhere amidst their recuperation, his bones began to ache.

"Do you feel that?"

He ignored her, too lost in his self-loathing. What did it matter what she felt? At least she was safe now. He didn't need a physical update every hour. Besides, he would know if a monster would approach.

"I mean it's suddenly so...warm."

His tongue started to itch. Surprised, he let his paws slip down and look around. Actually...yes. It was getting pretty warm. Hot even.

Not meaning to, he started to pant, tongue lolling out. This annoyed him. There were so many weird dog habits that just came over him, but considering he couldn't sweat this would have to do. But even as he thought this he began to pant harder, for the air had turned oven-like, smothering in its heat. Zelda's face dripped with sweat. She looked to him in alarm.

"It happened so quickly. What's going on?"

But it just kept getting hotter and hotter. The pain in his bones spread to his skin and his legs began to shake. He knew this feeling. He was changing back. But why? Twilight was still upon them—wait. The sky! The sky was turning green! No, now it looked bluish.

A bright light pushed aside the black clouds. It grew brighter and brighter till he swore if he looked any longer he'd go blind. Fire filled his veins and he howled in pain. Why had he forgotten? Why had he forgotten how much changing hurt? His howls turned to yells as his limbs stretched, his joints readjusted, and his skin split to swallow up the fur.

Yet even as his transformation reached its end, the heat didn't dissipate. It had only grown hotter. He wheezed in the burning air, clutching the melting grass between his fingers. He was going to die. The heat would smother him and he would die.

"You mortal bastard!"

He choked. The words shook his frame. Whoever spoke had a voice of thunder.

"How dare you leave her behind! You did not even look behind to see if she was following! I believed you to be some kind of hero—pah!"

Goddesses, the heat. He longed to look up from the ground to see who spoke to him so angrily—to see what kind of being could speak with such power—but the greatness of the light shone through his eyelids.

"I should lift my barrier and let my true self burn you to a crisp! But noooo, she had to be fond you and come down here for you—you, the dirty, selfish, pathetic mortal. Gah, what is wrong with you! Especially with twilight covering my view so I can't see a thing—"

"Who-who are you?"

"Take a wild guess, idiot. You're damn lucky I knew where you were and that your horse was there. Being what I am I couldn't touch a mortal without killing them. You better not screw this up again or I swear I'll have no inhibitions next time. You got that?"

Despite the fact he couldn't breathe, he grew angry. His lungs couldn't tell if there was air in them or not, but he had done his best! But even as he thought this he remembered how he had fought to protect Zelda, thinking Luna could take care of herself. What if she hadn't? He meant to say something, anything, to the raging voice, but it was just too hot. He could see black dots popping in his vision. His flesh had to be melting.

"You take care of her, Mr. Hero. One scratch—one bruise—and I won't be so kind the next time I see your ugly face again." Whoever it was paused for a moment. Then, he sighed. "I'm sorry to you however, princess. I did not mean to hurt you."

Next thing he knew he was gagging for cool air, clawing at the grass as he tried to reorganize his searing limbs. For one, horrifying moment he thought the thundering voice had made him deaf, for his ears were filled with ringing. After lying there in the cool, weeping for the pain, the ringing finally died down and he could hear Zelda besides him wheezing for breath.