Legend of Miraculous Chapter Seven, Part Two

Link had made it home free by sunset, and had called the guys to see how they had fared.
    “She is scary relentless, I honestly thought that glare of hers was gonna blow my head off!” Ravio pretty much yelled into the phone. “I’m never, ever doing that again! You’re my bro and I love ya, dude, but IMPA’S THE LIMIT.”
    Link had to move the phone away from his ear while Ravio spoke, “Okay, okay, I get it! Geeze…” he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll… talk to you tomorrow, sound good?”
    “Yeah…” Ravio sighed, “g’night man.” then hung up.
    “Right, now for Darunia…” Link worked on seeing how he was after their interesting afternoon. “Yo, everything okay on your end?”
    “Aside from a bruised collarbone and my cardio through the roof, I’m good, bro.” Darunia grunted as it sounded like he was moving his injury. “Remind me to never get that lady mad at us… and Ravio to never swindle from the butch girls.”
    “He did what?” Link asked while holding a blank expression on his face.
    “Tried to negotiate your safety, he’s never allowed to try and save our bacon again.” he sighed. “He was probably panicking since… yeah, that.”
    “Ugh, don’t remind me…”
    “Basically, he tried to say he could get something that could help her dating life if she let us go.”
    “Oh goddesses, he did not say those exact words.” Link covered his mouth.
    “Give or take his usual pitching average…”
    “Goddess, Ravio…” Link groaned a bit and shook his head, “he wasn’t physically hurt from saying that, was he? At least tell me he didn’t get a nerve pinch or something.”
    “Like I said, bro. Cardio. I bolted out of there like my feet were on fire, I was lucky she didn’t break anything.”
    “I’m taking the both of you out for sirloins, once I have the Rupees for it. The double portions might have to go to Ravio this time, sorry dude.”
    “I’ll hold you to that.” Darunia said as he hung up.
    Link shut off his phone and decided to just chill on his bed for a while. “Man… the only upside was that there wasn’t a Gufuu attack. I really, really hope the rest of the weekend won’t be as crazy as today.”
    “Eh, you know the saying about hoping,” Bleddyn stated after a few pumpkin seeds.
    “Which saying?” Link questioned.
    “The one about eggs and hatching.”
    “Yeah…” Link sighed and figured to do some social network browsing to take his mind off of the fact a Gufuu might show up thanks to his jinx. He couldn’t help but smile at least a little bit when he saw the pictures Nabooru posted, grinning like the love sick fool he is when he saw Zelda’s various reactions. ‘She’s too cute.’ He figured to give a thumbs up to the whole album in hopes to be vague about the whole ‘seeing Zelda being happy is too cute’ thing.
    Bleddyn’s ears perked up and swiveled a bit, quickly flying to the window, “Hey, someone’s howling!”
    “Howling?” Link sat up and gave his Kwami a puzzled face. ‘Oh the temptation to answer is strong… except I doubt Bleddyn would let me, even if it was just for this one little moment of fun.’ He pouted and gave the status a thumbs up. “So, what is that person saying, if anything, in wolf howl?”
    Bleddyn couldn’t answer right away because he was laughing too hard.
    “That funny, huh?”
    “Sh-She!” Bleddyn snorted, “She h-howled about rabbits in trees and h-hunting berries!” He fell back so much he started to twirl as he laughed.
    “She?” he asked… before he dared to check Nabooru’s update again to find that it was Zelda who was howling. ‘That temptation just got twice as strong now.’ “Hey, Bleddyn…”
    “HeeeeheeheeheeHAAAHAHA-hm?”
    “Don’t you think it would be super fun if she got a response?” ‘Please say yes, please say yes.’ “Nothing too long, just a quick howl.”
    Bleddyn’s smile was wider than a pie plate. “Normally I’d say no since it usually means a Gufuu, but this? I’ll accept.”
    Link jumped to his feet and nearly stumbled on his way down his loft stairs in the excitement, “Come on then! Let’s get to the roof before we do this, don’t wanna tip my parents off too much.” ‘Hopefully, they won’t notice and ask either.’
    “Keep your pants on, I’m coming!” Bleddyn flew after his charge with a mischievous grin on his face.
    Link couldn’t help but give just a bit of a cackle as he made his way to the roof entrance, “Okay, ready?”
    “You bet!”
    “Bleddyn, time to howl!” Link had such a mischievous smile on his face as he stepped onto the roof as his heroic alter ego and let loose the howl that came out. He had no idea what he was saying, but he was rather eager to find out what the reaction would be later. ‘Sorry, Zel, but I just couldn’t help myself. Though… what do I do now since I’m Sheikhan Wolf? Patrol? Howl again?’
    It’s a Friday night, his parents are probably asleep and it would be a while before his Miraculous would wear out… “Might as well try for a patrol? It’s not like we’re specifically restricted to Gufuus.” One gust of wind to carry him up and a clawshot later, Sheikhan Wolf was on the prowl.
---    
    In the dim caverns of the Unknown, a small red creature bristling with ash looked up into the moonlit skylight peering down into the shadowed abyss. It chuckled as he dipped a blueberry into a tub of white yogurt before inhaling the fruit.
    “Oh Bleddyn, you simple minded fool. You and your bearers…” Boore looked to the shadows to see his friend resting. “Who would have thought I would have been found by the perfect candidate after 1,200 years. My, how time flies. Regardless…” he popped a yogurt-slathered cherry in his mouth. “You will not face our ire this night, cub, consider yourself lucky.”
    
---
    As the girls chatted the night away, there was a shock going among them as there was the sound of a wolf’s howl piercing the once-calm night air.
    “He responded!?”
    “No way!”
    “He heard you, Zelda!?”
    ‘Excuse me while I die of embarrassment…’
    “It’s like they’re lovers!” Agitha cooed, resulting in Zelda trying to hide herself under a few pillows to avoid making eye contact with everyone else.
    ‘We only kissed! Not that they know, or will ever know. We’re not lovers!’ Zelda groaned and figured to excuse herself to the bathroom to get some alone time. Once behind the privacy of a locked door, Brawynn finally showed up from the satchel Zelda still managed to keep on her person without anyone questioning such.
    “I’m going to have a rather long talk with Wolf’s Kwami about this,” the poofy bird huffed.
    “I’ll talk to his chosen for you as well,” Zelda let out a long sigh, sat on the toilet seat and leaned against the counter next to it.
    Brawynn landed beside her head and gave her a few pats with her wing, “Do you wish to speak to them about this now?”
    “It would be for the best, but it might take us some time. Chances are Wolfie’s moved from wherever we heard his howling.”
    Zelda looked around for a moment and saw that, with some careful squeezing, she could get out through the sole window within the room. “How bright is that transformation light again?”
    Brawynn examined the window as well, “It would be better for you to get out to transform, your wings might hinder the exiting process.”
    Zelda got up, opened it enough to poke her head out of and looked down. It was at least an 8 foot drop, “I can totally make that, right?”
    “If you’re quick enough.”
    “Hopefully, I am.” She pushed the window up as far as it would let her and, with some difficulty getting herself to get out legs first, carefully lowered herself out. “On three. One, two, Brawynn, spread your wings!” She let go and hit the ground as Athena.
    “Right, let’s get going then!” She flapped her wings and flew more closely to the ground at first, not wanting to tip off where she was, then took to the air once she was closer to the edge of the Castle District. ‘Okay, so now to find Wolfie… oh! We have our Miraculous!’ She gave the charm a poke and a squeeze, unsure of how to activate the communication quirk. “Sheikhan Wolf, come in Sheikhan Wolf. I heard you, where are you? Am I even doing this correctly? Wooooooolfiiiiiiiiie, helloooooooooooooooo?”
    {“Gyah! Heh, sorry for the spook, Athy.”}
    “Is something going on? Where’s the Gufuu?” Athea asked as she took a moment to perch on the corner of a hotel, the sign below lighting half of her body in bright neon orange. “And where are you?”
    {“Hmm… I think I’m in front of the big tree in Korok Woods. You know, the one with the angry face.”}
    “And I’m at…” she paused to look at the sign below her, “The Lumpy Pumpk Inn. I shouldn’t be too far from your current position?”
    {“I’ll be right there.”}
    “I can come find you, it’s no trouble, really.” Athena stated while starting to take flight. ‘Okay, so I left the Castle District, the school is near the woods…’ “Wolfie, why is the Gufuu near the angry tree?”
    {“Ehehehe…. I’ll tell you in person.”}
    “Very well, I’ll be there in a few moments. Athena out,” she figured to take the path the limo uses to bring her to school, then detoured to the woods. Didn’t take too long to find the tree, as it was large and, even with a lack of sunlight, the face could still be made out decently. “Why is it so quiet?” she landed, pulling out her bow and carefully examining the area for any potential attacks.
    “Sheikhan? Where are you?” She called out in a whisper-yell while stepping around with extreme caution. ‘The Gufuu didn’t snatch him up, right? I really, really hope it’s not some sort of living shadow…’ “Wolfie, this isn’t funny, where are you?” She lowered her bow and gulped, “Sheik…? You’re not… dead, are you? A response would be oh so wonderful right now!”
    “HI ATHY!”
    To that, she responded with a shout of surprise and letting loose her arrow.
    “GAH!” The physical form of Sheikhan Wolf faltered as the arrow struck him. "WHY THE KNEE, MY GODDESS?!"
    YOU SURPRISED ME!"
    "BUT THE KNEE?!"
    "IT JUST HAPPENED, OKAY!?"
    "IT'S NOT OKAY! NOW I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO GO ON MORE ADVENTURES WITH YOUUUUUU!"
    "I'M SORRY - wait a sec, you were just fine when I shot you in the back weeks prior! You're faking it, you jerk!"
    And Sheikhan just laid on the ground cackling like a loon.
    “It’s not funny!” Athena huffed while crossing her arms after putting her wings back on, “I honestly thought a terrible fate befell you!”
    To this, Sheikhan sat up and chuckled. “Oh, my goddess, have some faith in your loyal beast.”
    “I’ll have more faith when my beast doesn’t scare me in the dark,” Athena grumbled as she took hold of the arrow shaft and watched it vanish. “Better?”
    “Mmmm, you’re here, so that makes many things better.”
    How she hoped there was enough shadow on her to hide her bright red cheeks. “S-So, what was that howl earlier all about?”
    The wolf stood up and brushed himself off with a chuckle in his voice. “Hehehe, actually, that was for someone else. I returned something precious to her and tonight I’m guessing she’s with friends.”
    “Ahh, I see,” she turned around as if to think, when in reality she was trying to hide the love-struck smile on her face to avoid an extreme hint about who she is under the mask. “She must be having a good time, then. Pray tell, was there any sort of translation to her call, or was it all just noise?”
    “She howled about rabbits being in trees and hunting for berries.”
    ‘Oh goddesses, I probably came off as such a huge idiot!’ That piece of information killed her romantic mood as she gritted her teeth for a moment before turning and speaking to him again, “Seems she needs to learn how to speak in wolfish properly, should she ever decide to beckon you like that again.”
    “Perhaps I can teach you as well, my goddess.”
    “I would not mind su- ‘as well’? Whatever do you mean by that, Wolf?”
    Sheikhan was glad for the moon covered by clouds to hide his reddening face. “Well, teaching a goddess and the most beautiful girl around would be any incentive.”
    ‘He’s going to teach me how to howl… twice?’ “I see… so I guess that means I’m only second-best in looks then?” she asked with a mock pout on her lips.
    ‘GAK!’ Sheikhan froze in thought. If he said the wrong thing, he’d be dead. Dead by bloody arrows, dead by bodyguards, dead by raging banshees. He had to think quickly. “Um… well, you see, uh… haa… you’re uh…” he stammered over his words.
    Athena only raised a brow and waited for his response. ‘So, this should be interesting…’ “I understand if no answer can be readily given since a good portion of my features are covered under a mask. Still, getting your answer would be something of interest.”
    “WOMANLY!”
    Athena had to take a moment to figure out what he just said, “Explain?”
    “You’re uh… more womanly than her, you carry yourself with a fairer, more untouchable air about you…” Sheikhan started to ramble a bit, all the while trying to calm his mind without images of either of the ladies in his life unleashing their wrath on him.
    Athena stared at him for a moment before covering her mouth and having a giggle fit. ‘If only he knew!’ “I thank you, dear friend, for such a compliment,” she managed to speak without too much laughter breaking up her words, “Perhaps I could give you a reward for such a finely-crafted answer?”
    The wolf smiled a wary grin, hoping that he didn’t botch anything and she wasn’t mad.
    “Hmm, what to give a wolf as a reward?” she mused while walking towards and around him, brushing her fingertips across his shoulder armor as she thought. She got an idea and leaned in really close as if she was going to kiss him…
    ‘Oh gosh, oh geez is this really happening? Can I really be this lucky?!’
    She stopped for a moment and whispered into his wolf ear while scratching its base, “Perhaps a trip to a little café ~?” ‘Sorry, Wolfie, but we have to remain as professional as we can… when I’m Athena at least.’
    “Arwoo?” Sheikhan made the mewling sound on instinct.
    Athena stared at him for a split second before bursting into another giggle fit, “That was such a cute noise!” After a few breaths to calm herself down, she straightened herself out and cleared her throat, “Let’s see if there’s a café open we can sit and chat at, maybe get something to drink and eat. It is pretty late, chances are it’s been awhile since either of us had dinner.” ‘A healthy one, at least. I’ve mostly had junk food.’
    Shaking his head to disrupt any whining, he got up and took her hand gently. “If my goddess demands it, who am I to deny?”
    ‘How in the world does he manage to make simple words such sweet talk?’ Athena thought while fighting off a blush, “It’s not a demand, my Wolfie, merely a suggestion. If you wish to go somewhere or do something else, I would be fine with such.”
    “A café sounds lovely after the day I had.” he twirled around Athena and twirled her until she found herself being carried in his arms again. “You lead, my goddess.”
    Athena composed herself before responding, “Let’s check the city first, chances are some place is open this late. From here, if we go north of the school… looking building, we should get there rather quickly.”
    “As you wish,” and so the two were off, leaping through the night sky as he held onto her despite some protests that she could travel by her own power just fine. The duo soon came across a quirky little place that looked like it was a mix between a boat and a blimp, the sign above the door saying it was called Beedle's Bar-None Café.
    “Well, it’s certainly… colorful.”
    “And the lights are still on, so it would mean it’s still open.”
    “…Athy, how’re we gonna pay for food?”
    “…Oops.”
    Sheikhan stared at her, “So, the one representing wisdom forgot that we have no access to funds like this.”
    “Perhaps we should just… do something else,” Athena suggested with a sad sigh.
    “Very well,” Sheikhan turned to leave with her - still holding onto her princess style - when they both heard the door open and a very excited voice calling out to them.
    “OHHHHHHHHHH!” a slender man with dark skin and a surprisingly pink narrow nose nearly shrieked. “Athena and Sheikhan Wolf out for a midnight stroll. Please, please come in!”
    “We have no money to give for your services, sir,” Athena explained as calmly as she could despite her wings being a bit fluffed out from surprise.
    “Nonsense! Come in, come in!” the man slipped to their side and ushered them both into the building.   
    “Okay!” the two sounded a bit unsure, though the sensation of worry started to melt on seeing how… amusing the place was. The entrance was a daylight yellow that gleamed compared to the calming night outside. Bright red leather covered the seats at the booths and counter while the tables were a cool blue green. There was another door beside the entrance that lead out to the bow of the boat part of the café for outdoor dining.
    Athena was a bit star-struck, whenever she had to eat out (minus this afternoon) it was usually some fancy place with toned-down colors and a professional atmosphere. Her smile could light up a dark night from how big it was, “It’s so fun! Come on, Sheikhan, let’s get a table! You… can also put me down at this point too. Honestly, how have you managed to carry me for this long anyway?”
    “I’m a lot stronger than I look, Athy.”
    “Due to the Miraculous, or are you secretly sporting a 6-pack?” she then mentally slapped herself for that sort of comment. ‘AHHHH, WHY DID I ASK THAT? Changing subject, changing subject!’ “Perhaps we should just get a table now,” she added on quickly and dryly.
    “Actually, it’s an 8-pack,” Sheikhan whispered to her as they took a nearby booth, gently putting her on one side of the table and then setting himself on the other side.
    ‘Note to self: shut up about his strength and not ask that again! Chances are he just said that to fluster me… which worked. I’m just going to stop this cycle before we both end up doing something we regret later.’ Athena thought while her wings were fluffed out from embarrassment.
    She was never more grateful for the man that let them in slip over to their booth with two menus in hand. “Welcome to Beedle’s Bar-None Café. I’m Beedle, the owner of this establishment and your maitre'd of the night. For you two, consider this meal on the house.” he did a quick bow as he handed them their menus. “Would you two like anything to drink while you choose your orders?”
    “Just some water for me, thank you, Mister Beedle,” Athena said with a friendly smile.
    Sheikhan took a quick glance at the menu for drink options, “Lemonade for me, good sir.”
    “ALLLRighty then, I’ll let you two pick your dishes.”
    “Thank you!” they both chorused as they looked over what they can select.
    ‘What’s ‘Holodrum cheesesteak?’ and why is it in panini form? From the description here, it actually sounds rather good…’ Athena thought as she kept her menu upright to avoid looking at a certain some-hero, who she was still trying to NOT think about due to this supposed 8-pack.
    “Ooh, beefsteak panini!” Sheikhan sounded rather excited, “with green tomato slices and goat cheese!”
    “Green tomatoes?” Athena peaked over her menu just a bit, “I thought if they were green it meant they weren’t ripe?”
    “Sometimes,” he shrugged as he explained, “but there’s a kind that are green and safe to eat.”
    Athena gave a small noise of confirmation and continued to stare at her menu and continue to not think about what he whispered earlier.
    Again, Beedle returned at the proper moment with the water and lemonade. “Annnnd there we go!” he pulled out his notepad and pencil. “Have you decided on your order?”
    “The Holodrum cheesesteak panini for me, please.”
    “The beefsteak, with all the fixings, please!”
    “RRRRRRight away!” Beedle took their menus then left them be with their drinks.
    Sheikhan took a sip before he found himself adding in some additional sugar with some nearby packets.
    “Not sweet enough for your tastes?” Athena questioned after she took a sip of water.
    “Maybe I just don’t like being a sourpuss.” Sheikhan twirled the straw in his drink to mix it.
    “Well, it would be rather interesting to see a wolf be a disgruntled cat,” Athena snickered ever so slightly. Her wolf stuck his tongue out at her. “Does it tastes better now, my friend?”
    “You wanna try it yourself to see?” Sheikhan held the glass out to her, adjusting the straw so that it faced her.
    “Very well,” she put her own glass aside, leaned forward and took a sip.
    “And the verdict is…?”
    “You really do like sweet things,” Athena giggled a little as she sat back down.
    Sheikhan chuckled. “It always does make the dreariness of the world more bearable.”
    “I’d have to agree on that,” Athena gave a slight nod, “it’s not easy some days. Those are the days I wish I could consume an entire container of neapolitan ice cream without regrets.”
    They continued with their shared banter until Beedle returned with their respective orders in tow, both thanking him with a smile as they started eating. It got rather awkward as Athena started eating hers and the cheese ended up stretching out between her lips and her food.
    ‘Well, this is… interesting. This happened with my pizza as well, but my sandwich is thicker. This will be a little harder to fix.’
    Sheikhan couldn’t help but snort a bit at his friend’s predicament.
    Athena could only respond with a slight glare, as talking with her mouth full would be rude. ‘Great, now what do I do?’ She was surprised when Sheikhan lifted his finger towards her and twisted his finger around the strand until it snapped and he ate the gooey goodness. She slowly put her sandwich down and swallowed what contents she had chewed, face becoming a brighter shade of red each time the moment replayed in her head. She figured to distract herself by drinking some of her water and pretending that didn’t just happen.
    “Is something wrong, my goddess?” Sheikhan asked, his eyes half-lidded and a small smile graced his face, his pearly white teeth glimmering in the - wait what?
    ‘BRAIN! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME!?’ “Nothing is wrong!” she managed to squeak while acting like the salt and pepper shakers nearby became the most interesting thing she’s ever come across. (Well they kind of were interesting to her, she’s never seen simplistic designs to them due to her upbringing)
    “Okay then…?” Sheikhan wasn’t completely convinced, but figured she would open up about it in due time, at least once there were no shakers around.
    Their awkward moment was broken up when Beedle came in with two chocolate soufflés put in front of them.
    “We didn’t order dessert?” Athena questioned.
    “As I said before, it’s on the house tonight. Consider it a THAAAANK YOU!”
    Both had to stifle a laugh back on how enthusiastically he put it, then gave him their thanks and started eating their free desserts.
    ‘I think the house chef might have some competition,’ Athena thought with slight amusement.
    All Sheikhan Wolf could think was ‘Oh this is great! I’ve never had such fancy stuff before! Omnomnomnomnom!’
    After dessert and (mostly Athena) insisting to repay his kindness by helping to clean up a bit, the two bid Beedle a fond farewell and continued their nighttime adventure.
    “So, where shall we go next?” Athena asked once they were going across rooftops.
    “Well, I’m pretty sure the lights are still going at the Wind Fish Amphitheater, perhaps an moonlight orchestra will make this night glisten even more with your presence?”
    “We shall see.” Athena stated as coolly as possible while her face heated up, “Where is such a place?”
    Sheikhan chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist. Firing off the clawshot, the two were soon flying off to the Faron District.
---    
    As the two flew off, neither noticed the glowing eye from the shadows. It blinked several times before melding back into the darkness.
---    
    The Faron District is the source of most entertainment in Hyrule City’s downtown, as its structure was mixing man-made marvels with Mother Nature’s bounty. It was settled within a grove of evergreens, all giving slight movements with the night’s wind as though subtly dancing. Though a beautiful and calming sight during the daylight hours, within the glow of the moonlight it became a much more serious and rather somber place to be.
    “I’m a bit curious now, Wolfie, can you see in the dark?” Athena asked as the two made their way through the town.
    “Better than I can than normal, so there’s that at least,” Sheikhan explained.
    “How much farther are we to this amphitheater?” Athena questioned as she managed a jump over a roof without the use of her wings, sticking a perfect 10 on the landing.
    “Not too much father, if memory serves,” Sheikhan responded after doing a quick front tuck.
    “So, I must ask, what made you think to come to such a place?” Athena stopped for a moment to take a look around to see if, perhaps, there was anything familiar about the area. She followed Sheikhan to an open stadium, and she could see a clock tower in the distance. Peering closer, she saw it read 11:59.
    The wolf took a seat on one of the arcing benches and offered Athena a seat as well. She placed herself next to him, feeling slightly awkward with being in such an open place alone at night. She kept wondering why he brought her here when the clock struck 12:00. A grunting gear sounded as she looked to the stage, and nine instruments appeared from beneath by wiry automatons of some sort. A flute, a weathered cello, a strange shell, a set of bells, a standing harp, a xylophone, a large triangle, a harpsichord, and a drum set. As the flute started to play, the others joined in at perfect timing into a flowing ballad and the stadium began to glow a myriad of colors that Athena was enawed with.
    “I ended up thinking about something my grandpa said after we left Beedle’s place,” Sheikhan explained to her as the players went back beneath the stage, “about where he took grandma on their first date.”
    Athena’s face went red, smiling a bit while wondering with both joy and nervousness if this was a date or not. ‘We’re supposed to be professionals! So chances are this is just a hanging out thing that friends do, right? We’re… friends… right?’ With the memory of their kiss bubbling up in her thoughts, she was having quite a back-and-forth about what tonight could be considered. “S-So, any idea what the song is called?”
    He thought for a moment with a hum, “I think I was told once, but I don’t recall it that well.”
    “I wouldn’t mind this for a wake up alarm for the mornings,” Athena laughed softly, “it’s more pleasant than the sounds of a buzzer.”
    “I could come and visit and wake you up instead, if you like,” he stated while giving her an extremely cheeky grin.
    Athena blushed pretty hard and gave him a playful shove, “Only in your dreams. We gotta keep our identities a secret, remember?”
    “Oh yeah…” he slumped a bit.
    “At least we have these sorts of moments together, that’s something… right?” Athena stared up at the sky above, seeing the stars dotted above them, shining like small diamonds.
    Sheikhan leaned back, his face… melancholic, if she could put a word to it. “Yeah...”
    “And it’s not like we’ll stop seeing each other anytime soon, Hyrule needs us both. Who knows, maybe we’ll pass each other on the street one day in our civilian forms and just… know.”
    “Yeah,” his face brightened up a little bit at her words.
    “However…” Athena got to her feet with a stretch, “it’s getting late for the both of us. Just because it’s a weekend doesn’t mean we can’t sleep in - danger strikes at any time.”
    Sheikhan Wolf got to his feet as well with a nod in agreement.
    And so the two were off through the night skies once again. When they reached the edge of the Faron District, Athena turned to him and gave her companion a quick hug.
    “Thank you, Wolfie, for tonight. It was a short time, but it was fun.”
    Sheikhan hugged her back with a smile, “You’re welcome, Athy. I suppose even a goddess bird can share the night’s light with her beast.”
    Athena giggled at that, “Indeed. But for the record, you are not my beast,” she pushed some of his hair out of the way to get a clearer view of his eyes, “you’re my friend. A dear one at that.” Her face was a deep shade of pink, but she didn’t care.
    Sheikhan found himself blushing as well, giving her a smile and an extra tight hug in response to her words.
    Athena laughed a bit and returned the hug, though not as strongly, “Goodnight, Wolfie.”
    “Goodnight, Athy! Sweet dreams!” he bowed with a flair of his hand and leaped away into the dark.
    ‘I love you, you big goofball,’ Athena sighed softly and flew back to Hilda’s, managing to get in through the window from before with some difficulty.
---    
    As the sun rose on the new day, a group of gal pals shunned it in favor of more sleep. Except for Ruto, who had to leave in order to get some practice in for her swim meet the next day. The others ended up finding out what Zelda is like without enough sleep and no coffee, which resulted in her sleeping longer than the others. She officially joined them after a few more hours and was handed an energy drink by Nabooru.
    “What happened last night? We ended up nodding off after you went to the bathroom,” the redhead questioned.
    “Oh, um…” Zelda took a gulp of the drink before going on with her excuse, “I saw some pretty flowers outside and I ended up getting so distracted I forgot to say!”
    All eyes went to the party hostess.
    “Agitha’s done the same when she hears a bug,” Hilda sighed.
    “It’s true! There’s so many wonderful little visitors that come see Hilda!” Agitha clapped her hands together, “I like the visits from the fireflies in the summer the best! They’re such enlightened creatures!”
    “Point taken,” Saria said.
    “So, what was so interesting out there that you were out in the garden? Didn’t have to do with that howl we heard, did it?” Nabooru questioned with a sly grin on her face.
    Zelda, thank the goddesses, had a strong gag reflex to avoid doing a spit take with the energy drink, “Of course not!” she didn’t like lying to them, but what else could she say or do?
    “Whatever you say,” Nabooru shrugged, though she had a knowing gleam in her eyes.
    “So, Ruto’s gotta go and practice at the school… what do we do then?” Saria pondered.
    “Can we watch?” Zelda asked.
    “Nope,” Saria shook her head, “believe me, I know. Tried to talk to Groose during band practice once out in the field. Bad, bad idea if you’re not a parent volunteer, participant in the band or an employee of the school.”
    Nabooru smirked. “Oh? And what were you going to ‘talk’ with Groose about?”
    “He owed me cash in a bet! Nothing else, geeze!” Saria explained quickly.
    ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have made that dare to kiss him…’ Zelda just quietly drank the Majikpotion as the girls bickered until Sahasrahla popped in to start their day.
---    
    Link groaned as the sunlight pierced his window shades like a bouncing ball of light. He could even feel the impact on his chest and the ringing in his ear… wait a second…
    “Wake up already, pup!” Bleddyn yelled as he bounced on his bearer. “That phone of yours is ringing and you better answer it or so help you -!”
    With a groan and a snarl, Link sat up and answered his phone, “This is Link. Make it quick, I’ve got the start of a headache coming.”
    “The headache will be the least of your worries when I’m through with you!” That was Impa. A very, very angry Impa.
    ‘I should write my will out now.’ “What did I do?” he asked with a slight voice crack.
    “Get dressed and meet me at the Callaghan household. Thank your lucky stars that Zelda’s out today, and if you know better you won’t tell her about this meeting.”
    “O-Okay!” he was met with the sound of the line being disconnected. “Bleddyn, what did I do?” he asked his Kwami in great bewilderment.
    “Hurry up and get dressed, the longer you keep her waiting the worse it’ll get!” Bleddyn pushed against Link’s head to prompt him. He was met by being plucked by the scruff of his neck by his chosen, being placed on the still warm pillow and then watching him run around trying to find some clothes. “Don’t forget pants!”
    “I won’t!” Link managed to find some casual-looking slacks and got them on before slipping a blue T-shirt over his head.
    “Shoes,” Bleddyn flew down and sat on the futon.
    “Where’d I kick those things off last night?”
    “Don’t you usually do that at the door when you get home?”
    “...Oh yeah. Be back in a sec!” and he was off.
    “And bring me some seeds!”
    After that was all settled and informing his dad that Impa needed him for a short training session, Link was just outside the house gates when he saw Impa was already there, leaning against the fencing with a none too friendly look upon her face. ‘Yeah, should’ve written out that will before coming over…’
    The moment he was within Impa’s sights, he was dragged into a sizable building in the back that was their training dojo. After they both took off their shoes to cross the tatami mats, Impa held him by the shoulders and stared down hard at him. Bleddyn would have stayed to see how this would go, but the smell of a pumpkin pie elsewhere in the building distracted him and was off to eat it.
    “Care to explain last night?” her voice was low and tastefully covered in fury.
    “Bleddyn translated Zelda’s howl, a-and I responded! H-He agreed to! It was just some joking around, h-honest!” Link said quickly. ‘I don’t even know what I said!’
    “You think your response was a joke? I’ve learned what those howls mean, boy, and I doubt that your howl back was a joke!”
    “What did I say that didn’t come off as a joke!?” Link asked in desperation to figure out why he was in so much trouble.
    Impa stared at him for a good solid minute before speaking again, “You said ‘Come and ravage me, my love’ as your response.”
    To this, Link’s face became an inhuman shade of red and wished the ground would swallow him whole. ‘I wouldn’t even say that to Zelda using actual words!’ he was about to yell at Bleddyn, but the distinct sound of cracking knuckles caught his ear. Impa had removed her main coat leaving her in a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The dark glare in her eyes did not mask the evil smirk that Link had come to associate with the Gufuu’d villains.
    “Now then, Link… Prepare yourself!” she yelled as she leaped at him.
    The echoes of pain and torment lasted to the day after.
---    
    One Sunday (and cheering for Ruto and her swim team) later, it was time for school once again and the gal pals were all gathered in the front of the school as they waited with Saria, who was waiting on Groose to show up. Nabooru didn’t let her green-haired friend forget about the dare on Friday night, and were now waiting to see the result of it. The only one that didn’t seem to quite care was Agitha, who was chatting with a little butterfly that was nearby.
    “I’m never going to live this down, ever…” Saria groaned into her hands. “Why can’t I back out of this again?”
    “Truth or dare rules,” Hilda explained with a droll tone.
    “Zelda, why? Why did you pick this one for me?”
    “It was the first thing that came to my mind,” the blonde heiress smiled nervously.
    “Can’t I just do something else instead?” Saria begged.
    “Them’s the rules,” Ruto patted her friend on the head.
    Saria just groaned more in response.
    Said groan was amplified by the bellowing brass of the tuba coming onto the scene.
    The girls reacted with surprised screams due to the sudden tuba sounds, with Saria’s being the most dramatic due to her wild flailing of arms.
    “H-Hey, Groose!” Saria chuckled nervously with a smile to match, “Wh-What’s up?”
    “Hm?” Groose looked down to the girl. “Oh, what’s up seedling?”
    “First, don’t call me that! You know not to!” Saria huffed, snapping back to her usual dichotomy with her frenemy. “Secondly, I’m fine. I just need to ask a favor of you.”
    “Oh?” Groose went down on his haunches so he was at eye level with her, a smirk on his face.
    Saria stared at him for half a minute before grabbing his face with her hands and giving him a big, clumsy kiss. It lasted for about 5 seconds and then she ran off with an, “Okay thanks bye!” over her shoulder.
---    
    The weekend ended far too quickly in the opinion of one teenaged superhero. After Impa gave Link the training-based thrashing of a lifetime because a certain someone didn’t bother telling him what the howl translated to, Saturday night and the whole of Sunday was dedicated to trying to recover from that. Two nights and a day weren’t enough time, and he had sore places he didn’t even know existed until now. Currently, he was trudging to school and hoped that today would be more kind to him. He came just in time to see Saria, the one person he’d never expect to do anything that looked like a romantic gesture, suddenly liplock with Groose and then run off like nothing just happened. ‘This is gonna be one of those weirder days, isn’t it?’
    At least there was one ray of sunshine today, as Link spotted Zelda coming over. Though there was a dull sensation of pain from doing such, he waved in greeting.
    “Hello, Link!” Zelda smiled and gave him a small hug, but on feeling him tense up she pulled back and looked him over. “Is everything okay?”
    “[Impa really pushed me on Saturday with training.]” even signing hurt to various degrees.
    “She did?” Zelda gasped a little, “Oh Link, I’m so sorry! Let’s get you to the nurse’s and see if she has anything to help you with the pain!” She actually took his backpack from him and put it on her own back to help. The trip was quiet so to save Link some pains, but it wasn’t an awkward one.
    ‘I swear, she’s the epitome of fantasy princesses,’ Link thought as he walked alongside her, the kindness of her heart easing his pain at least a little. They got a bit lost (as Zelda hadn’t needed a reason to visit the nurse before), but with Link’s help they saw Nurse Raine and got some OTC painkillers in his system. After that was done with, Zelda escorted him to homeroom and set his stuff by his desk.
    “The painkillers should kick in soon, but if they start to wear off she said to see her again,” she stated while helping get Link’s stuff out as well, “where is that book?”
    He pointed to where he had put it and, after Zelda helped him set up, managed to sign thank you to her without much pain involved.
    “You’re quite welcome, Link,” Zelda smiled sweetly at him.
    ‘What next, you’ll kiss my hand?’ he had to yell at the part of him that hoped for it to shut up. ‘Wait… kissing… Athy used my straw last night for the lemonade… WE HAD AN INDIRECT KISS!’ Thankfully, Zelda didn’t notice his face going atomic red.
    “I better get to my own seat, take care!” she waved goodbye and headed off.
    “You’ve got it so baaaaaaaad,” Ravio snickered as Link took his seat. He got a text message a few seconds later from Link.
    L: Like you’re not into Hilda at all?
    R: …
    L: Boom
    R: Touche, good sir
    R: But be warned, I will have my vengeance!
    L: Whatever you say, Keeseman
    L: Speaking of, any news on how this weekend went with them?
    R: Hilda said Friday was fun, Saturday was a bit less fun since Ruto couldn’t join and Zelda was super excited to attend her first swim meet
    L: Oh yeah! Man, would’ve gone but Impa THRASHED me in training this weekend…
    R: What happened man?
    ‘What kinda excuse can I give?’ Link had to think on that, couldn’t exactly say ‘I told the love of my life to ravage me like some 17th century romance novel in the form of a wolf howl’.
    L: Let’s just say there was a part two to Friday’s little debacle
    R: Ouch
    L: I’ll be fine, Nurse Raine gave me some stuff to help
    R: And your lady love was SUCH a glorious knight for you!
    L: Hardy har har, should I just edit some ‘princess falls in love with a merchant’ stories to star you and Hilda?
    R: …Point taken.
    Link sighed with a smile at his victory of the week… hopefully Boarova was on break this week too.
Oh, how the fates will toil…