Canine Cold [Closed]

Canine Cold
- Autumn, Guardian of the Lost Woods (1/1/5, Hylian) Reward: Frost's Cape, +15 Rupees.
- Jayden Darrah, Specialist Guard (3/2/2, Hylian) Reward: +75 Rupees.

In Hyrule Field, snow was not an uncommon occurrence. In the Lost Woods, injured Wolfoses weren't an uncommon sight. However, in the Lost Woods, snow was an uncommon sight and in Hyrule Field, a wounded Wolfos that was left alive by its pack wasn't something that passed by every day.

And yet that was the situation. The Lost Woods were being breached by a blanket of white, crystallized water, and now, several days after the first snowflakes had fallen, a brown Wolfos limped over the plains, sniffing around and sneezing as the snow got in its nose. Behind it, the snow crunched under the boots of its mistress. "Don't get too excited, Wolfos," the slender, elegant woman said, "As soon as we find the source, we destroy it and return home, and I hope to never see this white hell again."

Autumn was the Guardian of the Lost Woods. That meant she also had to guard its wildlife and its ecosystem, and the snow was killer for said ecosystem. That was the reason she had left the cover of the woods and ventured out into the open, something the Hylian blonde never did. She currently walked with her bow on her back and her sword at her hip, not sensing any enemies in her direct surroundings. Once she sensed something, she would be fast enough to strike it. Not to mention that the Wolfos was still darting around as well as it could, rather than standing at attention with some hostility.

Jayden walked through the snow, cupping his hands around his mouth, trying to breathe a bit of warmth into them. He hated vague missions. All he was told by his commanding officer was that there was some sort of anomaly in this area and that he had to find the source, eliminating it. Yeah, that was fair. All the metal was wearing made him fall into the snow harder and at this point if someone licked it, they’d be stuck. Wait… that sounds like something to tes- No. Jayden shook his head to eliminate those silly thoughts. He gripped his sword harder, walking onwards. If Denolle’s stories had taught him anything, If he looked hard enough, his target would find him. That was only if what he was looking for was a creature or person, though...

Maybe if he… His mind thought quickly. There was still a lot of emptiness in front of him, so to make it go by faster, he shuffled his feet back and forth, activating his Pegasus boots. He then burst off running, too fast to sink into the snow. In fact, he was running so fast that a clear trail of snow was being kicked up behind him. At this point he wasn’t too particular on where he went, though it did feel good to move faster, as it warmed up his body. His hope was that he could find a cabin or something to rest at for a while.

Suddenly, Wolfos stopped limping around and barked at something in the distance. Autumn, too, sensed that something alive was approaching them. Rapidly. Friend? Foe? Target? She couldn't tell. Only that it was moving quickly, and that all her instincts were telling her to get ready for combat as she would have done in the Woods. Obeying these instincts was her first reflex, so she pulled out her sword. The bow would be no use against a fast-moving foe, but she could defend herself with the sword.

Soon, a human figure rushed by her, kicking up a large cloud of snow. As he got further away, Autumn's sense faded and she figured he was what both she and the Wolfos had picked up. She put her sword away again and looked around. "Wolfos? My four-legged friend, wherever are you?"

"Ruff." She looked around and covered her broad smile with her hand. The poor beast had been reduced to a pile of snow with a brown nose sticking out of it.

"Come out of there, Wolfos. We have to go onwards." Wolfos barked again and got to its feet, shaking thoroughly to get the snow off of it. "I do wonder why that person was here... maybe he's the source of the blizzard. Let's go, Wolfos! The sooner we catch up to him, the better!"

Jayden was running, though he indeed sensed it. Due to his speed, he didn't realize the exact situation, but they were moving. And one was a wolfos. Jayden drew his sword, stopping, though stop is in the broadest of terms. In truth, he more or less drifted for about ten meters, spraying up a massive blast of snow in front of him. 

Then once more, he activated his Pegasus boots, in the other direction this time. He could tell that one was a person, the other was a monster, so the person must be in danger. With his speed, he was back at them in no time, and he saw that the wolfos was running after a woman.

So Jayden used his speed to tackle the wolfos, taking it to the ground. "Ma'am, you keep going! I'll deal with this." He said, turning his blade to the creature.

Poor Wolfos was not having the best of days today. First the snow, then the impromptu burial, and now the person that had passed by them earlier caught up to them again and started swinging his sword at it, while shouting that Autumn had to run and that he would protect her. Something to that extent. Autumn had crossed her arms and looked at it.

"My good man," she said, grabbing the arm that he didn't use to wield his sword and tugging on it, pulling him over her back with a little effort, "I would appreciate it if you left my companion alone... and if you did not underestimate me." She dropped the man in the snow. "That said, my name is not 'ma'am.' It's Autumn."

She looked at Wolfos. "Are you okay? ...not worse than usual, at least?" the beast panted, and barked once. "Very well, then. Shall we go on? We have yet to find the source that threatens our home."

Jayden was surprised when he felt himself fly over the shoulder of the woman he just tried to save. He landed down in the snow on his side and rolled up. "Wh-what?" She then revealed her name as Autumn. Apparently the Wolfos was her pet... That was an odd one... Normally a doggy works just fine. 

Standing up, Jayden still held his sword, but not aggressively. He went into a low bow. "I am Jayden Darrah, specialist guard of Hyrule castle town, HAREON squad. I appologize for attacking your... Companion?"

"Yes, my companion." Autumn crossed her arms as she looked at Jayden. He was small, which explained how easy it had been for her to pull him over her, despite his armor. "I am the one known as the Guardian of the Lost Woods. Wolfos here is my sole companion and serves as my sniffing dog while he's at it."

She then lowered her arms and waited until Wolfos pressed his nose into one of them, indicating he was alright. "Now if you'll excuse us... it is probably best if you leave this place. We have narrowed down the source of the blizzard to be somewhere around here... there is no telling when we will run into it." She turned around and started walking.

"As Guardian, it is my duty to see to it that people leave places as dangerous as the Lost Woods safely. And at the moment, I daresay this place is more dangerous than Death Mountain. ...leave while you can."

Jayden sized up the woman. Much taller than him… She also looked like a powerful fighter. Luckily, despite her handing his ass to him earlier, she seemed friendly enough. Though she requested that he leave. He didn’t know a lot about the Lost Woods, but he knew they weren’t here.

“Well, as I said before, I’m in an advanced guard squad in Hyrule Castle Town and because I’m on a mission here, I’ll have to ask you to leave. I’m just not supposed to allow any vigilantes or civilians to help. Rules, you know?” He hoped that she understood his situation. She seemed rather understanding, so maybe she’d leave as instructed. Part of his mind, though, knew that she wouldn’t.

"I am neither a vigilante nor a civilian, sir." Autumn understood his confusion, but she was not amused by it. Very far from it. "I am a Guardian. I can fight just as well, if not better, than you." She understood his predicament. But if she had come here only to turn back at the first person she encountered telling her to, then she would not have left the Lost Woods in the first place.

"Let us pray that I will not have to demonstrate this. I would rather not spend my energy infighting with my fellow Hylians when I have a monster to destroy. However, sir Darrah, you may assist me if you wish. Wolfos is not the most combat-suited monster out there..." Wolfos whined and pulled up its limp as if to illustrate, "and I am well aware that bowfire alone is not likely to be enough when it comes to destroying a phenomenon powerful enough to cause this." She gestured at the snow around them before offering her hand.

"For that reason I would like to offer an alliance for now."

Jayden nodded, looking around. This was all in danger, and without someone to take down what was starting these blizzards, most plants and animals would die. He never really intended to fight Autumn anyway, as he realized she’d probably kick his ass, but he agreed anyway. He shook her hand, hoping that there would be some cover from the snow soon. Next time he was in a blizzard, he’d need a parka. He looked as far as he could, though the snow distorted it.

Jayden looked at wolfos, still getting used to one not rushing at his throat. “Well, shall we be off, miss Autumn?”

"We shall. But please do not slow me down." With those words, Autumn turned and started walking, gracefully and soundlessly, with Wolfos following close behind her. It occasionally looked back at Jayden, warily, afraid. However, apparently it trusted its mistress to not let the Hylian attack it again.

As she walked, Autumn lowered her Hawkeye over her face and zoomed it in a little. As far as she could see, there was nothing but white. She zoomed in further. And further. Until she was zoomed in to the max. She then stopped. "It would appear there is a monster up ahead."

The Guardian had never seen a Freezzard before, but she knew that the enormous mass of ice with many red eyes was not friendly just by looking at it. It stared in her direction, as if it saw her. She zoomed back out and put the Hawkeye back on top of her head before turning around to face Jayden. "And it doesn't look like a pushover. I suggest we find a way around it."

Jayden gave a slight nod, looking widely to both sides. "Well, it's not like we're confined to one path. There's... A lot of field." He looked in the distance. He could kind of see something but couldn't tell at all that it was a freezzard. Hell, he really didn't know what a freezzard was. The way she described it made it certainly sound evil. 

"Well, aren't other people at risk if we just leave it there? Shouldn't we try to kill it or something?" To be entirely honest, he just wanted justification for moving around a bit and warming up his body before he froze.

Autumn shook her head. "Perhaps, but I am not familiar with this kind of monster. Nothing like it has ever appeared in the Woods, and it looks largely if not completely impervious to sword strikes and bowfire." She stared at Jayden. "If you wish to try, be my guest." She then started thinking. While it was not her duty to take out every monster in these hills, with the size of that thing there was a good chance that it was the cause of the blizzard...

Higher up in the hills, a large mountain of flesh and fur looked down at the two humans foolishly intruding on its territory. It would give them one warning... it growled. One warning. If they did not turn back then, it would take action. It stood up, raised its head and roared. The result was a stroke of blizzard, with harsh, cold winds and plenty of hail. That should scare them off.

Autumn had lowered her Hawkeye again, and she saw the monster ahead bellowing out snowy breath. A second later, harsh winds reached her and hailstones the size of the monster's eyes cut through her mantle and into her flesh. "on second thought... it seems we have found the cause of our blizzard. Let's find shelter until the storm settles a little and come up with a strategy to destroy it."

Looking at her curiously, Jayden felt hail begin to plummet into him, though his armor managed to easily deflect most of it. He nodded, and began scanning the area. His eyes on the mountainside, he eventually saw a small cave entrance, the opening about two feet tall and almost five wide. He couldn't see what was in the cave, but it was undoubtedly better than out here.

"There's a small cave over there... It should be alright." He then noticed her bleeding. "Hey... Are you alright?"

Wolfos whined next to her. Apparently its fur wasn't any more protective against the hail than Autumn's mantle was, and when Autumn looked at it she saw its nose was starting to bleed. "Get to Jayden," she said to it, "He's found shelter."

When Jayden asked her if she were alright, she waved it off. "I've had worse, really." She then looked at the entrance to the cave Jayden had found. "...are you serious? That hole is two feet high. There's no way all three of us would fit in there." Wolfos crawled through the hole without hesitation. Autumn knelt at the hole and waited a bit. "Wolfos, are you okay in there?"

Wolfos barked. The sound echoed rather loudly, but was still muffled by the rock in between them. "...it seems it's found space. I'll go see." She crawled after the beast and ended up in a rather spacious, dead end cavern. "...this will do, I do believe." Wolfos greeted her immediately, and Autumn grabbed her Deku Leaf. She then took Wolfos in her lap and started using the leaf to clean the blood off its nose.

Jayden watched as Wolfos and Autumn crawled into the small cave entrance. He followed the latter immediately after, but kept looking down towards the ground out of respect for her probably not wanting him to look up. When the three were safely in the cave, Jayden looked around. It seemed like the walls were somewhat crystalline from the ice, and the light from outside reflected in, easily illuminating the place. He felt his face, knowing it to be rather numb. Blood smeared on his thumb, and he knew the hail had gotten him a bit, despite his best efforts.

A thin slice was going along his cheek, but it wasn’t anywhere near bad enough for him to react much. He saw Autumn wiping Wolfos’ nose from the blood, and he just crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. He also brought down his hood, using his hand to brush off any snow out of his hair. “You said you saw what was making the storms. What was it?” He asked curiously.

She didn't reply until after she had finished cleaning Wolfos' nose. "It is the monster I saw before. It seemed unable to move, which makes it all the more frightening how far its influence reaches. The closest thing I can come up with to describe it is a large mass of ice with a head, sporting a great number of small, red eyes. It was largely covered in mist, though, not unlike the one my breath is forming right now."

She was fairly certain that was it. It was no coincidence that the blizzard had acted up more strongly after that thing had roared. Wolfos curled up next to her, perfectly content with taking a nap here. Autumn supposed he could sleep until the hail died down a little.

"...you're injured, yourself." She pulled her robe closer around her, looking up at him.

Jayden listened closely to her description of the creature responsible, and the more he heard, the more he thought they'd need a whole squad to take it down. Autumn then pointed out that be was injured. He looked at her confusedly, and then when he felt nothing wrong with his limbs, he felt his face, noticing the blood smeared on his fingertips. 

An eyebrow went up and he wiped the blood away. "Well, I wouldn't call it 'injured' but I guess you're right, miss Autumn. I should be okay though. If this was enough to stop me, my captain wouldn't have trusted me with a job like this." Jayden took out Korteklauw, starting to sharpen it. If they were going against a solid ice cube demon, he'd want a sharp blade. "So what's the plan? Run at it and hope it doesn't freeze us?" He said jokingly.

"I fear it will not be that simple." Autumn rose to her feet, her cloak still close around her. "If it is solid ice, our swords will not help us... nor will my arrows or Wolfos' fangs..." Blunt force trauma would be their best bet... scatter the ice... she couldn't melt it without fire magic, at least... "But maybe we'll be able to figure something out once we get there. Don't worry, I think I know a way to keep it from conjuring a blizzard at us."

****

About half an hour later, the blizzard died down and the two closed the distance between themselves and the monster. At a safe distance away, Autumn cleared her throat. "You may want to stay back, knight. I cannot guarantee what the storm will do with this weather." As soon as Jayden did as she said, she stepped forward and raised her voice.

Can you hear, a song is born
It's the ballad of the storm
Thunder, heavy wind,
The Song of Storms begins

Play the song, and you'll see
It's a cursed melody
And the storm will come
To you

As soon as she finished, the sky become overcast and hail started falling- but this time, it was less severe and the wind blew the small hailstones away from them. Autumn thought she heard thunder rumbling in the distance. She drew her bow and notched an arrow. "I can try to get an arrow into its eyes. The wind should give it a little boost..."

She didn't wait for Jayden's reply, pulled down her Hawkeye, took aim and unleashed her shot.

disclaimer (open) disclaimer (close)

The above lyrics to the Song of Storms were not written by me. The video I got them from can be found here.

After hearing Autumn's song, Jayden looked in awe as she made the snowstorm less severe. It was his first time seeing anyone do magic like that, and he was surprised. “That was cool...” He muttered to himself, watching her fire the arrow. After she fired, the arrow met its mark perfectly, nailing the freezard right in the eye. Jayden couldn't see it, but he heard the massive roar. “Wow, nice shot!” He said entusiastically. After this, from the continued roars, he could tell that it wasn’t enough to take the thing down.

Looking at his boots, he had an idea, but wasn’t sure if it would work. “Just wait here. Cover me if you can.” He then started shuffling until his boots were ready, taking off towards the monster. With the hail ripping past him at incredible speed, he felt sharp pain in his cheeks a few times from hail tearing at his face. He was lucky none of the hail went in his eyes... The knight sprinted directly at the freezard, only veering to the left to avoid a massive rush of icy mist, and he was sure that such an attack would make quick work of freezing him solid. Now with a free sprint up, Jayden leapt into the air towards his target, spinning his foot around, making a huge shattermark appear. This was where Jayden was thankful that he had metal greaves as his pegasus boots. Anything else and he'd have likely broken his foot. Yet again roaring in pain, the beast tried to bite at Jayden, who dodged and sped away with the Pegasus boots.

Turning to gain distance from him and aiming around again, Jayden wondered if his evade would work again. To at least shake it up a little, he dodged to the right instead, landing the same kick in the same spot, damaging it further. Denolle had always told him miracles happen in threes, and thus it had always been the man’s lucky number. Rearing round a third time, the freezard wasn’t falling for anything, now shaking it’s head to saturate the area in the ice mist. It’s attack was interrupted by a shot from Autumn to one of it’s other eyes, giving Jayden the spot needed to land his final kick and the shatterpoint fragmented, sending ice everywhere. Raising a fist in the air, Jayden gave a shout of victory until he realized there were mini versions sliding around. He drew his sword, getting ready to defeat them as well.