The Wolf and The Bird

[Illidan Stormrage]

The cold night air poured over Link as his summoned Loftwing slipped through the sky. Silver glitter hung overhead, a display of nature's beauty. Link scooped the brisk winds and calm murial greedily into his consciousness. Although it was a lie and he knew it wouldn't last, he found a morsel of peace among the starlit sky. There was no rhyme or reason to his fear of heights fleeing either; every time he'd taken to the air his stomach roiled and blood drained from his face, but now a natural acclimation greeted him when he watched the green spears below rush like a river.

The forest canopy teared open in a rough circle. A deep blue lake stole the light of the stars and wore it as its own. The water was so dark that Link almost believed his Loftwing could fly down into a sub-level of the night sky. Small, indistinguishable objects bobbed in the shallows of the lake and peppered the shore line. Two fires struggled to stay burning in braziers, their meagre efforts insufficient to light the ground.

The Loftwing squawked and dived. The cold bite of the night air intensified as it coursed over Link's skin. Link balled his fists around tufts of the bird's feathers and clenched his teeth. He may have grown used to flight, but an intentional freefall suspended his stomach's contents in anti-gravity.

The wind cut off and Link opened his eyes. They had landed near the lake. Link dismounted from his Loftwing and surveyed the scene.

Bodies lay around sparsely in the grass. Some chests rose and fell in steady rhythm while others did not. Link unsheathed the Phantom Sword and crouched beneath his mount, much to its surprise. He rose a hand to block the batting wings and sliced through the package bound to the Loftwing's breast. His gear clanked into a shambled pile; his shield, clawshots, bow and arrows and the Master Sword. He re-equipped himself, taking a cautious glance over his shoulder at intervals, and stood again with shield and Master Sword in hand.

Link crept forward, squinting in the darkness for the perpetrator of this battle. He toed a nearby body that still breathed and heard a squelch as he placed his foot back down again. The fire light barely touched but he could tell it wasn't blood. He knelt and dipped a finger. Cold, thin and wet. Water.

Link looked to the edge of the lake. It was some ten long strides from where the body rested. Puddles of water surrounded him and filled in the grass from where he stood to the bank. How did so much water get so far from the lake? The dark surface rippled almost imperceptibly, the gentle shiver of glassy stars the only indication. No rain clouds hovered, nor was there any trace of clouds at all. If it had rained, Link surely would have heard from his tree prison.

The body at his feet moved. In a movement Link couldn't follow, the figure rolled into a crouch and slashed at his arm with a sharp dagger. Link stumbled back, a bite of pain just below his elbow, and a warm stream oozing down. For a moment the figure looked at him beneath a bedraggled mess of hair, eyes wide and unsure.

"Syla," Link breathed. "What are you doing here?"

The woman who faked capture in order to capture Link took a step back, looked from blood edged dagger to the Hylian and back again, turned heel and sprinted away.

"Hey!" Link ran after her. "What happened here?"

Syla was spritely and Link's gear weighed him down. She stumbled, managing to stay upright but her speed dropped. Link was going to catch her.

Something caught Link's toe and he flopped unceremoniously onto the ground. Tiny grains of dirt scratched at his face and eyes, and he swiped them clear with his forearm. He stood and looked for Syla. The dark and empty treeline greeted him.

Link sighed and turned back. Syla likely didn't cause this; as he inspected the other bodies, they all wore the same deep green tunics and leggings of the people in Tralor. But what was she doing at this lake in the middle of the forest? And why was there a team of her rangers lying in an ankle deep layer of water? The Loftwing landed here because it heard the Hero's Shade's howl, so the matter of the utmost urgency was here somewhere.

The splosh of water sent goosebumps prickling Link's skin. He turned in time to see the lake settle. He headed towards the shore, passing the weak flames, and this time he saw it. A torrent of bubbles broke the surface in a mad flurry and then stopped. Someone was drowning! But then it occurred that the silence of the night would've been punctured by bubbles before now. In the dark, in the depths of an inscrutable lake, did Link want to dive in to find out what lay within?

<You do. You must hurry.>

Only one voice matched that telepathic message. The Hero's Shade appeared beside him without warning.

"How did you get here without the Song of Time?" Questions were popping up faster than answers could be formed for them.

<Get into the water, Link.> There was a deep stillness to his future self's command that had never been there before.

Link took one furrowed, questioning gaze at his skeletal future, threw his sword and shield down and charged into the lake.

The chill of the water slammed into him as soon as he pierced the lake's surface. Oxygen burned in his lungs, and he paddled frantically back to air. He exploded from the calm layer, droplets of water spraying everywhere, and sucked in a deep breath. A shiver radiated from his bones, but he ignored it and plunged back into the water.

<Hurry, Link.>

He swam. The lake was as inky black as it alluded to on the surface. He parted the waters before him over and over again, wondering how he was going to find ... something ... when the lake was so dark.

Bubbles streamed past his eyes. Link looked down. Two oval eyes, black as the water, stared back at him. Fingers clasped his ankle. A new column of bubbles rose from beneath him, and Link's blood froze.

Moments later Link emerged from the lake, struggling backwards across the shore. A white hand squeezed his foot with strength that shouldn't have been possible from such a stringy arm.

"It's got me!" Link shouted. "Some water monster! I need my sword!"

<Calm down,> the Hero's Shade said. <Look at what you rescued.>

Panting, nerves on edge, Link calmed himself enough to examine what he fished up. A humanoid with white skin, sporadically patterned with blue diamonds, slumped in the water. Fins jutted from his arms and hips, and a long fishtail lay limp from his skull. He blinked with two black almonds.

"It's ... a Zora," Link said. Cuts lined his body, although the blood washed away in the lake. An arrow protruded from his back and shoulder.

"Hero ..." the Zora said weakly, a grim smile on his lips. "Hero of Time. Is ... this where you ended up?" He coughed violently. "It's good to see you ... and to say hello. I'm ... Malu."

Link was lost, but he had a sinking feeling that something bad was about to happen. He crouched. "Sorry about me freaking out before. I'm not used to Zoras grabbing my foot in dark water."

Malu chuckled, a weak and pitiful sound. "It's ... fine." He turned his dark eyes to the Hero's Shade. "I'm sorry ... I didn't wait like you said. Things would be much better if I had a little more patience."

The ghost skeleton nodded.

Link's eyes widened. "Wait ... you two can see each other?!"

<I'm sorry, Link,> the Hero's Shade said. <I promise I will explain all of this in a moment.> He and the Zora shared a glance. <Take out the mask I gave you.>

Link pulled out the Zora mask. "This didn't do anything. I tried using it when I was captured but nothing happened. It's just like the mask I got from the Happy Mask Shop owner back in Hyrule."

Malu sat up, slowly, shaking with each movement. He took the mask in a light grip and turned it over in his hands. "Yeah. This will do."

"Please, someone tell me-"

"Good luck, Link," Malu said. He smiled wanly. "I never thought our paths would cross, and I don't know why they have, but I hope ... well, I'm sure you'll work it out. You're the Hero of Time."

Malu pressed the mask into his face. Link's throat tightened as the edges of the mask crawled into Malu's skin until it became his new face. His entire body shone with a brilliant white light so strong that the black of the waters sparkled blue. Link shielded his eyes from the spectacle, flat planes of light extruding from his fingers.

The light dispersed and a faint plop sounded. Link opened his eyes. The Zora mask floated in the water, a wave of sparkles rippling away until they each extinguished.

"Where's Malu?" Link asked his future self. He lifted the mask from the water, dripping wet.

<Link. It's time to talk.>