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The wolfos weren’t really the problem. There were a lot of them, sure, but between Wild and Twilight and half a dozen villagers armed with bows and pitchforks, things weren’t going too badly.
The wizzrobe, though, that was a problem.
At first it stuck to just reanimating the dead wolfos. It didn’t actually bother puppeting them, instead opting to just fling the corpses around. Which, as far as Wild was concerned, was disgusting, but not significantly dangerous. Then it started enchanting rocks and branches, and after one of the villagers was hit on the head by a chunk of flying stone, he exchanged a grim look with Twilight. They were going to have to take the thing more seriously.
The wizzrobe clearly wasn’t taking them seriously at all. It hung back, bobbing and cackling, surrounded by a vortex of forest debris. Leaving Twilight and the villagers to deal with the wolfos, Wild whirled to face it, narrowing his eyes.
“You,” he told it. “Are really getting on my nerves.” He raised his sword. The wizzrobe let loose a high-pitched giggle and its fingertips crackled – Wild dodged and the second he moved he knew it was too late.
Heat - pressure. His skin burned and twisted and he lost seconds –
Pain jolted through him as he hit the ground on the other side of the clearing, and all the breath was knocked out of him. He was struggling up even before his vision had cleared -but his body had gone wrong somehow, his limbs seemed to be in the wrong places, there was too much happening – a thousand smells assaulted his nose, he could hear something tiny rustling leaves a mile away, and breathing, loud, hard, not his own, or was it? - and then he was sitting on the ground again, his head spinning.
What did that thing do to me?
The wizzrobe spiralled into the sky, cackling, in a burst of magic. Wild couldn’t see any more wolfos – that was good. They must have got them all. Twilight’s eyes were fixed on him and Wild was surprised to see that his mentor looked absolutely panicked.
The villagers were staring at him too. Wild couldn’t somehow read the expressions on their faces but a ripple of fear ran right through him, shivering his whole body, like he could sense viscerally that something was wrong, really wrong –
One of them raised his spear again and Wild realized in bewilderment that it was pointed directly at him.
“There’s one more!” he yelled. “Kill it!”
“NO!” Twilight howled, lunging forwards, but the villagers were already throwing themselves across the clearing towards Wild, weapons drawn. Wild glanced over his shoulder, confused – what were they so scared of? There was nothing there! And then he looked down at himself.
Oh. Oh.
Tawny fur, dappled grey and gold, four paws, a thick curled tail.
Okay. Okay, this is new…
An arrow shot straight for his head. He dodged, scrambling to his feet. “Stop!” he tried to yell. “It’s me!” But all that came out of his mouth was a barking sound.
Another arrow hit the tree inches from his shoulder. No slate, no weapons. Wild didn’t think, didn’t hesitate further – some deeper instinct took over and he whipped round and then he was running.
And he was running.
Wild was fast. Even without the enhancement of an elixir, he was easily the fastest runner out of the nine of them. He loved the feeling of his feet striking the ground in a steady rhythm, the wind whipping through his hair, the way his bones and muscles and heart and blood all seemed to harmonize together when he ran, when he really ran, when he ran so fast and so far he felt like he was almost flying. He loved the gradual burn in his legs and lungs and the confidence that he could push through it, because the joy was so much stronger.
But this, this was different.
This body had been made to run. He was streamlined, one with the forest and the air and the earth. His paws barely seemed to brush the ground before pushing him on, the coil and pull of the muscles in his legs and chest felt liberated, like they should never have bothered to do anything else except this, except running. Blood pounded through him, his senses were alight, scenting so much life, everywhere, so much movement and pattern and he was aware of so much more than he’d ever known was out there -
The cliff dropped away before him and he skidded to a sudden, jerking halt at the extreme edge, panting. He hadn’t even seen it coming. That was close. Can’t pull a paraglider like this.
It's just a spell. There'll be a way to fix this.
He suddenly felt a little overwhelmed.
Thudding paws behind him. He tensed up and whirled round, then relaxed as Twilight, in wolf form, emerged out of the trees and padded towards him.
“Are you okay?” Wild tried to say. The words came out sounding like a bark again, and he flinched at the unfamiliar sound.
“I’m fine. Did they hit you? Are you hurt?”
“Hey,” Wild exclaimed. “I can understand you! Even when you’re Wolfie!”
Wolfie’s eye-roll meant so much more to Wild than it ever had before. “Well, obviously. Out of interest, why am I still Wolfie when, in case you hadn’t noticed, you are currently also a wolf?”
Wild glanced down at himself again. “Yeah, I am,” he said thoughtfully. Twilight came up beside him, pushing his body gently against Wild’s in rough comfort.
“You… don’t seem to be very upset about it.”
“Um…” Wild considered the problem. He still felt a little high on adrenaline. It was definitely inconvenient. But he couldn’t deny that running like that had been...amazing. “I mean… it’s not ideal… kinda hard to pull a bow without, uh, fingers.”
“It’s going to be okay,” Twilight said earnestly. “The Master Sword can fix this. I’ve seen it before. I’ll explain to Sky what happened.”
“The Master Sword?”
“It worked for me. And, uh, a friend who recently found himself in a similar… situation.”
“So all we have to do is go find Sky, and the Master Sword will turn me back?” Wild said. Twilight nodded.
“Yeah. So there’s nothing to worry about. It’s an easy fix.”
“Okay,” Wild said. “Okay, so if it’s an easy fix, and all the wolfos are gone anyway…”
Twilight tilted his head on one side. “What?”
Wild grinned. “Then there’s no major hurry, right?”
Twilight blinked. “I’m a little confused, cub.”
“I just mean, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t explore a little bit first, right? It’s not like I’ll have another chance to find out what being a wolf feels like…”
Twilight’s tone was suspicious. “Wait… you don’t want to get turned back?”
“Of course I do,” Wild said. “Eventually.”
Twilight made a sound that might have been a strangled laugh, or a sob.
“Um, Twi… are you okay?”
“Fine,” Twilight replied, and now he was definitely grinning. “This is just… so different.”
“Different to what?”
“To how I reacted. I mean, to be fair the circumstances were a lot worse. It’s just… very you.”
Wild hesitated. “That sounds like a bad thing.”
Twilight shook his head, flicking Wild with his tail. “Believe me, it’s not.”
Wild glanced around them, impatient. “So… exploring?”
“Fine. Exploring. But-”
Wild recognized his current look, because in wolf form Twilight tended to exaggerate his facial expressions to make sure a Hylian Wild understood them, and this one meant this is your last warning not to do anything stupid.
Which seemed a little unfair, given that this was really not Wild’s fault at all.
“We’re going back to camp before nightfall. Okay?”
Wild rolled his eyes. “Okay, Wolfie.”
“Oh sweet Hylia. Okay, you know what, if I’m Wolfie, you’re Wolfie Junior.”
Wild spluttered. “No.”
Twilight turned, shooting Wild a huge, sharp-toothed wolf grin over his shoulder. “Come on, Wolfie Junior. Let’s go exploring.”
“I will bite your tail.”
“I’ll sit on you so you can’t.”
They glared at each other. Then Wild relented. “Fine. Twi. Cub was bad enough. Goddesses.”
“Best not to go that way,” Twilight said, gesturing back the way they’d come. “Don’t want any more misunderstandings with the villagers.”
Wild looked out in the other direction, towards the snowy peaks in the distance. “Race you?”
“Cub-”
“Last one to that tree eats boko guts!”
“Which tree? We’re in a forest!” Twilight protested, but Wild was already running.
Wild had theoretically sort of been referring to a tall pine about five hundred metres away, but once he passed it he just kept running. He could hear Twilight pounding up behind him but to his delight Wild found that he was faster. He’d never been faster than Wolfie, no matter how overpowered he made his speed elixirs. He put on an extra burst of speed, just because he could. They were nearing the foothills of the mountains now and Wild could see a narrow ravine ahead. He bunched his shoulders, coiling his energy like a spring – and leaped.
He cleared the ravine easily and whirled, to see Twilight make the jump, too. Wild beamed.
“Why do you ever bother changing back? This is awesome!”
A shadow fell across Twilight’s bright, ice-blue eyes. “Wild, I… I love this form. I do. But you gotta understand, I need to know it’s my choice.”
Wild checked, a sudden cold understanding sweeping through him. “Twi, I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“It’s fine,” Twilight said. “It’s fine.” He smiled again, but it was strained. “But the way those villagers reacted… that’s how most people react to me, cub. We just killed at least five wolfos each. I’m never gonna know exactly where the boundary is, between them, and regular wolves, and me.”
Wild’s heart splintered with guilt. He drew closer, nudging Twilight with his shoulder. Touch seemed more natural than speech, right now when his every sense was sharper, when his nose was telling him so much more than his eyes or ears.
“Twi, I’m really sorry. We can go back. Do you want to go back? I didn’t think…”
“Hey,” Twilight said firmly. “Stop it. We said we’d go exploring, so that’s what we’re gonna do.”
They ran together into the mountains, the gradient rising steeply and the sky glowing a vivid cold blue all around them. When they reached the top of the peak, their paws now crunching through a thin layer of snow, Twilight lifted his head and howled, a wild, joyous sound that made the hairs on the back of Wild’s neck prick up. He’d heard Wolfie howl a thousand times, but it had never resonated like this. He’d never understood the music of it like he did now, instinctually, with every fibre of his soul.
Twilight glanced at him with a smile somewhere between sad and mischievous, so Wild copied him, tilted back his head and howled.
The sun was dropping behind the mountains, staining the sky amber, as they ran back through the woods towards camp. Wild scented a rabbit, warm and tangy and close, and whipped round – before Twilight physically blocked him, giving him a warning look.
“Come on, Twi. I just wanted to see what it would be like to…”
“No, cub.” Then his ears pricked up and they both wheeled, alarmed -
Arrows were suddenly hammering in at them. Wild’s senses seemed to be blazing as the villagers, pitchforks at the ready, came shoving through the trees. Twilight pushed forwards, shielding Wild from them with his own body.
“HEY!”
Wild turned, though he didn’t have to, because his nose was already telling him that Time, Sky and Four had just come bursting out of the trees behind them.
“Stop!” Time yelled, and Wild had never heard him sound so angry. “Stop, that’s our wolf!”
The villagers checked, glancing at each other in confusion. By then Time had already put himself between the two Hylians-turned-wolves and their attackers. Sky and Four ran to them, Four’s hands skimming over Twilight, searching for injuries. Sky stared at Wild in confusion, then at Twilight, who hadn’t relaxed his protective stance. As the villagers began to disperse, muttering among themselves, Time turned to Twilight.
“Care to explain?”
Uh-oh, Wild thought. He’s giving us The Look…
Twilight shrank a little, glancing nervously at Wild. Then he shifted back into Hylian form and straightened up, though he didn’t move away from Wild.
Wild raised his hackles. He felt incredibly uncomfortable with everyone looking down at him like this.
“I thought we talked about this,” Time said with a sigh. “You can’t keep bringing strays back to camp like this, Twilight. We just can’t take care of them. This one’s very cute, but it’s a wild animal.”
Wild growled, low and menacing in the back of his throat. Cute? How dare you…
“Very wild,” Sky said, a little nervously.
“Okay, okay!” Twilight interrupted, reaching back awkwardly to rub the back of his neck. “I can explain. We had a bit of a run-in with a wizzrobe…”
“We? And where’s Wild?” Time sounded exasperated. At that moment Four suddenly started laughing hysterically. Time stared at him, completely bemused. Wild glared, and Twilight gave him an apologetic look.
“Uh…we sort of might need to borrow the Master Sword, Sky.”
Sky blinked, then looked from Four, who was now doubled over with laughter, to Wild.
“Oh…”
“Four…?” Time began, looking concerned. Sky drew the Master Sword and laid it on the grass between them, for all the world as if he’d done this before.
Wild glanced at Twilight, suddenly uncertain. He felt the muscles in his shoulders bunch instinctively, uneasy with all their eyes on him. Twilight crouched down, bringing himself to Wild’s eye level.
“All you have to do is touch it,” he said gently. “It’s okay.”
Wild padded forwards and laid one paw on the hilt of the Master Sword. Light and colour spun and again there was that weird feeling of his skin and bones burning and twisting – and then he was sitting on the forest floor, the sword held tight in one very Hylian-looking hand, staring up at them through his hair – he’d apparently lost its tie somewhere. Twilight pushed back a tangled lock to inspect his face.
“Are you alright?”
“Y…yeah,” Wild said. His voice sounded familiar, but so flat. “Fine. Thanks,” he added to Sky, holding up the Master Sword for Sky to take back. He didn’t want to stand up just yet – all his senses felt muffled and seemed to be misfiring, making him dizzy. He glared at Four.
“You can stop laughing now.”
Four was biting his lower lip to try and contain himself. “I’m sorry, it’s just… you had the exact same expression…” He dissolved again.
Time sighed, though his lips were twitching. “Right. Well, now that’s cleared up, we should be getting back.” He held out a hand to Wild, who took it and allowed Time to pull him up. He misjudged the distance, though, not expecting to end up so far from the ground, and staggered. Twilight caught him around the shoulders.
“Take it slow, cub.”
Wild nodded, a little embarrassed, extremely disoriented. He glanced at Twilight as they started to walk, his mentor keeping a hand on his arm to steady him.
Was it as weird for you, the first time?
No, he realized with a shudder.
It was so, so much worse.
It took a while before Four stopped giggling every time he looked at Wild, and longer to explain to the others what had happened. Wild was expecting the snarkiest response from Legend, but to his surprise the older boy just gave him a quick once-over and then muttered: “Lucky Twi was with you.”
“So does this mean we all get to call you cub, now?” Wind interrupted. Wild shrugged with a forced nonchalance.
“You can call me whatever you want, but you might wanna remember I’m the one with access to the Goron spice.”
When things had finally quietened down a little, Wild concentrated on the small, familiar actions of chopping vegetables and stirring the cooking pot, trying to ground himself. He felt strangely bereft. Being so alert to every tiny shift in the life of the forest had been… exhilarating. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so alive as when he and Twilight had been running hard, neck and neck, into the mountains.
He sprinkled a handful of wild garlic into the pot, marvelling at the intricacy of how his Hylian hand worked. All those joints, all those tendons, all those delicate nerve endings that a wolf paw, made for running and clawing, didn’t have…
Twilight dropped down beside him, peering into the pot. “Smells good! How are you doing, cub?”
“Uh, fine…”
“It’s normal that you’d feel a bit weird, you know.”
Wild shrugged, feeling a little helpless. “I…sorry. It was just… fun, you know? I know it shouldn’t have been. And I, I know that for you this is serious. I didn’t mean to, to make light of that. Of what you went through. My head’s just a little… sorry…”
Twilight sighed, leaning forwards so he could peer under Wild’s hair into his face. “Honestly, cub? It did me good.”
Wild looked round, surprised.
“…it did?”
“Yeah. I sometimes forget how to enjoy being a wolf. There are fears, yeah, and… bad memories, but there are so many good ones, too. Thanks for helping me make a few more.”
He slung an arm around Wild’s shoulder and Wild smiled, leaning into his mentor. He poked the fire with a long stick, breathing in the scents of the night – moss, leafmould, blue nightshade, the bite of woodsmoke, the tang of frying garlic. Somewhere far, far away, a wolf howled its lonely music to the sky, and he felt Twilight shift slightly against him, listening.