Wolfos' Reign [UD/Light]

A silvery glow hung in the cool night air, a haunting light emanating from the full moon. It was only barely enough to make out silhouettes, obscuring from view any figures. On any other night it might have been beautiful, peaceful.

Now it only seemed unsettling. The shadows were not as soothing mirrors of sleeping beings, they were as cloaks for something that simply did not belong. Serina did not know what it was that lurked beyond the veil of darkness, but she knew that something was wrong. The animals were behaving strangely, and many didn't even want to talk to her. Jayjay expressed something like fear before, and then flew off.

Unable to sleep, the kokiri girl hopped out of bed and went out, taking up her cape. It was oddly comforting to have it with her, though she had no reason for it. But it had become a sort of memento of her friend and it was really one of the last remaining links she had to her.

She wrapped the cape around her, taking in the cold, clear night air. Maybe a walk would help her calm down.

It didn't. Shockingly, stumbling through the witching hour when all action ceased, when forms lost meaning, when the very air seemed still and dead was not a relaxing experience. And it became infinitely worse when a clear, low howl rent through the calm night.

Waking from a dream where she was bathing in a field showered by sunlight, Keera found herself dazed. As the folds of sleep faded, she adjusted to the darkness of her home and sat up. Normally she was a sound sleeper, but recently Keera found herself waking unexpectedly in the middle of the night.

"I told you!" Came a rash whisper from beneath the bed where Melda took to sleeping, strangely. The green fairly emerged, floating over Keera as she rubbed her eyes one last time. "There's howling, I'm sure of it."

"Are you sure it's not just the wood-worms crawling through the walls?" Keera asked as she swung her legs out of the duvet, relishing in the cool breeze that swept across her skin.

"Fairies don't get senile." Melda replied dismissively, flying towards the window on the other side of the room.

"Would you sleep better if I went out and had a look?" The Kokiri Girl slid on her boots and pulled on her cardigan that rested on the headboard of her bed. Keera was now convinced Melda's awakening had something to do with her own. Wordlessly the fairy flew to the open doorway as Keera stepped out into the night, grabbing her staff and flute from the stand on the way out. The night was an uneasy black. Keera watched the reflection of Melda in the stream that surrounded her house as she made her way into the centre of the village.

When an audible howl cut through the silence, Keera could just feel Melda's 'told you so' on the tip of her tiny fairy tongue. Turning her head towards the direction of the howl, Keera waited for her long hair to settle against her back before listening intently.

"There, look Keera!" Came Melda's whisper from behind her. Sure enough, she could make out a shadowy figure in front of her.

"Maybe we should go back inside..." Keera whispered, resisting the urge to tremble. Just.

Aria blinked her bright pinkish-red as she yawned, flying out of a patch in the Roc's Cape made as her bed. "Um..." she murmured, still groggy and lacking her normal temper, "What's going on?"

Serina held out a finger for her fairy companion to rest on. "I don't know. Something's not right in the woods..." She wasn't sure what, exactly, but she was certain that something about this entire scene was off. The howling was definitely not helping.

"Ugh..." grumbled the fairy, "You mean to tell me you went out here, in pitch black night, where you think it's dangerous, without even knowing why?!"

"Someone has to do this," Serina said softly and patiently, "Why not me?"

"You're going out into zero visibility night without backup. Even for us this is reckless."

"You're welcome to stay behind and miss out on the adventure," Serina teased gently.

"Without me you'd be toast. We go together. I'd try and convince you to wake up the others but you wouldn't listen anyway, would you?"

Serina shook her head, smiling as she did so. Even though everyone else may be distant to her in the village, even though she was constantly alone, she had Aria and Jayjay. She turned in the direction of the howling to leave.

"Wait, there's another fairy..." Melda moved from behind Keera to better observe the red glow. Keera too was squinting, trying to make more out of the shadowy figure ahead of her. If there was a fairy, it must have been a villager, but who? Almost certain it wasn't a dangerous monster, she made her way towards the figure, breaking into a small jog as it started moving away from her. As she got closer, she could hear hushed voices.

"Oh?" Keera found herself mouthing. Having planted herself in front of this person, she wasn't entirely sure she recognised the face. "Apologies if I scared you. Did you hear the howling too?" Keera turned quickly to look into the darkness of the trees as Melda hovered above her head.

When she heard the rapid rustling Serina immediately focused on her hand and flicked her wrist, spawning from thin air needles in her palm. Her mouth twisted into a grim line. This was bad; she hadn't brought her bow or anything else she could use, and stumbling around in the dark like this...

But then as she readied herself to jump aside and toss her needles, the figure was lit up by a soft green glow. Oh...

She released the needles, standing up straight again. Briefly she was ashamed of herself for being so paranoid. What was it that unsettled her so? No, even if she was on edge that was no excuse for how she was acting.

"...Oh," she murmured, "Just another Kokiri..."

Aria blinked her light a few times. "What do you mean, 'just?' You're one, too!"

Serina chuckled lightly. "Oh, I know." She nodded at the other girl, saying quietly and curtly, "We heard the howling, so we're going to check it out. Maybe you should go back to bed."

"Oh..." Keera hands, which were folded against her chest fell to her sides. Melda landed on her head lightly as if to prompt her speech. "One of us couldn't sleep anyway." At mention of this, the green fairy took to the air again, embarrassed perhaps. "I would have gone to investigate by myself anyway... Perhaps we should go together? That's if you don't mind."

Secretly, Keera was delighted to find another Kokiri out here, even if it was one she didn't fully recognise. Maybe a name would help.

"I am Keera, and this is Melda. Do... you live on the edge of the village?" Keera found her hands together again, her fingers tapping against each other as she asked the question. She didn't like the eerie silence that was left in the wake of her words.

Serina shook her head at her fellow Kokiri's question. "No, I don't live anywhere unusual... I just don't spend much time in the village." She was not going to go into any more detail than that. It was painful remembering Melana and her state when she disappeared. And it was worse given that she had been trying to improve lately.

"I'm Serina. My fairy is--"

"I'm Aria. Nice to meet you, I guess."

The reddish-tinted fairy didn't sound very enthused. Serina pouted at her. "That wasn't very nice." Aria flew around in her face.

"Well your introduction certainly wasn't anything--"

Serina hushed her. "At that rate you'll burn out even before we find anything." She turned to the other girl. "I'm sorry. She's a bit ill-tempered, and being woken early hasn't helped..."

She hesitated at the offer, though. That was strange behavior. And she couldn't guarantee that they would be any safer in a group. Still... after that scare she had been given she couldn't say it wouldn't reassure her.

Serina eventually sighed. "Well, I'm not sure it's safe where we're going, but if I can't convince you to stay where it is, I guess you could come."

"I can understand that..." Keera began, but upon feeling the piercing eyes of Melda, didn't mention who had led her to wander outside. And there was no way she was going to let someone go off alone, "you certainly cannot, I'd be guilt-ridden if something happened and I left willingly."

Keera could sense some doubt in Serina's voice; didn't she want some extra company? At that moment, she pondered on how far she would have gone by herself before the safety of her bed became a more appealing option.

"Don't worry about it," Melda began. As she continued, Keera turned a light shade of red; "Keera here is one of the village healers. If you get a scrape or two she'll fix you right up." Her fairy never did seem to adhere to social norms. Keera very much felt that she was imposing now.

Aria lit up very briefly. "Well, I guess that if there's anyone it's good to pair up, it would be you, then." Serina sighed slightly, retorting, "I would feel a lot more comfortable if we didn't need her powers, thank you very much."

She turned to Keera. "No offense intended, of course. But it's better not to get hurt, at all. Let's be careful, if we're going."

With their introductions over, they headed off towards the sound, quietly, and Serina didn't bother much with conversation. Eventually, traveling down the moonlit path, they heard a terrible crunching and snapping. She took in the sight of something hunched over a mass. Serina's breath stopped sharply and she quickly held up a hand to her side for stopping, for silence...

For a few horrifying moments there was nothing. She thought that whatever creature it was that was hiding up ahead in the darkness had noticed them, was about to attack them. But then, as she prepared her trembling hands to flick her wrists to ready herself for battle, she saw the creature up ahead turn and flee. She let out some heavy breaths. She didn't think the darkness would affect her this much... but she had to be brave. She had to be strong, so nothing would ever hurt anyone around her again.

Serina gulped and walked closer to whatever it was that the figure had been fixated on. She grew more and more aware of an awful stench as she drew nearer. She eventually recognized it as an animal, a doe, and knelt down to check on it. It was terrifying. She shivered as she noted that its guts had been ripped out, that things she was sure were supposed to stay inside a body had been removed. She felt the body hesitantly. Still warm, but no breathing, no heartbeat. It was unnatural. It was eerie. The Kokiri girl shivered and stepped back.

Keera barely registered the call for stillness made by Serina, as her ears were already fixated on the horrifying sounds playing out to them. She could feel Melda's tiny body pressing into her back through her hair; the place she always tried to burrow into whenever she didn't want to be found. The only way to prevent her hands from trembling was to place them against her sides as Keera wrapped her arms around her mid section, her stomach crunching as she held her breath at the halting of the noise. Serina's first breath startled her slightly.

"...Ah..." After following Serina towards the bundle on the ground, Keera's nose twitched. It wasn't until she recognised the doe, barely illuminated by the silvery, ominous moonlight, that the sorrow hit her. Swiftly she turned around, her hair flying to bat against her shoulder as her hands flew to her mouth. Keera knew that it would betray her if she opened it. After a long, slow breath, tears welled up in her eyes. Never before had she seen an animal of the forest in such a sorry state. She wanted to throw her hands onto the doe and heal it, but she knew it was already gone. Quickly stilling her emotions, she turned back to the scene, making her way past without allowing her eyes return to the dead doe.

"We... We should continue?" She muttered as Melda floated near her shoulder.

Serina still trembled as she backed away. The animals here were her friends, her closest friends, her only friends. It was just wrong for something like this to happen. It couldn't be real, it couldn't be. The girl scarcely heard Keera's question, and simply stared.

It was then that Aria flew straight into her cheek, body-slamming her with a force of a smack, jarring Serina back to reality. Her fairy spoke up: "Come on, we knew it was dangerous coming out here! Don't lose your nerve now, we haven't even seen what did this yet!"

Serina now realized that Aria's voice was shaking, but she was still trying. The kokiri girl shook her head. That was right. She had asked the Great Deku Tree for help so she could learn to face these things. It did her no good to get shell-shocked now, scared or not...

"Right. Sorry, Aria. You're right, Keera. Let's see..."

Her head turned to the terrible scene before her. She didn't want to look upon it any more than necessary, but she needed clues. It wasn't killed for no reason... there were missing bits of it, as she confirmed earlier. Her stomach turned just looking closer, but she knelt down again, looking about. A few moments later, with Aria's help and light, she found what she was looking for.

She pointed to it. A little trail of blood, barely visible in the light of the moon and Serina's Fairy. It led deeper into the woods.

Keere just stared off into the thickets nearby as Serina analysed the doe. She knew that if she saw it again, she would have cried. lots. When the deed seemed to be done, she pointed to a faint trail of blood. In midst of the horror they had just experienced, Keera felt a little braver; they needed to set things right; to stop any more animals being killed. She would find time in the morning to grieve for the doe.

Leading them slightly off the known track, Melda joined Aria in attempting to illuminate the trail for them. The droplets of blood became fewer, but just as the trail ran dry, they came upon what they were tracking.

"Serina... Those are..." Keera did not have time to finish as a two pairs of feral eyes rested on her. Before the pair of Wolfos made their move, they both snarled, showing their fangs. "I-I can't fight!" She cried as the beasts lowered their heads, preparing to pounce. She knew it was the wrong thing to do, but Keera found herself running. Just running. All that raced through the healer's head was a flash of the bloody carcass of the doe and glimpses of those sharp fangs. She could hear Melda shrieking behind her, but she couldn't comprehend what her fairy was saying. Darting through the trees as nimbly as she could manage, Keera threw herself against the back of a tall, thick tree, all bravery lost to her.

She could hear it snarling, sniffing, searching. Holding her breath, Keera pulled her wooden flute from her belt, tightly gripping the end in one hand. She could hear that eager nose, relentlessly reeling in her scent. Just before she was sure she was Wolfos food, she heard the creature howl briefly in surprise, along with a high pitched squeal from Melda. Her heart hammering hard enough to reach her ears, Keera jumped out, seeing the Wolfos attempting to make a meal of her fairy. As she moved forwards, it turned around.

"Ah!" Keera cried, swinging her flute with all the strength she could muster. The wooden instrument landed with a heavy thud on the Wolfos' head, earning a yelp in response. As it tried to tilt its head up for a chance of a bite, Keera smashed her flute into the side of its head, sending it into a small leap away from her.

With her hair flying behind her like a cape in the wind, Keera ran as fast as she could back towards Serina. Who else would be making the second Wolfos yelp?

A shiver ran up her spine as the two found the culprits, but Serina reminded herself, desperately, that she could not allow them to simply do as they pleased. No matter how frightened she was, she was not going to allow some terrible monster to come in here and hurt her friends.

Keera did not stand as strongly as Serina did. As she ran, the latter girl cried out, eyes on the Wolfos, "Don't! Don't leave my side!" But as she scampered off, so too did one of the wolf monsters. Serina made a sound of frustration, but before she could turn anything other than her head to the pair already tearing through the forest, she was tackled and slammed on the ground by the second. She recovered her wits to see that she was staring up at a big, hungry, slobbering Wolfos face. Ick. Not like this. Not like this. The head came closer to her own face, sniffing its new meal. As it did so, Serina flicked her right wrist a few times, summoning needles, while simultaneously pushing its face away from her with her left. She couldn't hope to overpower a serious Wolfos but it wasn't actively trying to kill her, yet.

As the wolfos's patience grew thin, and he pressed back harder, but Aria smacked its face a few times, deftly flying around his annoyed swats. Serina silently thanked her as she punched into its neck, needles and all, and kicked it low in between the legs for good measure. It let out a small yelp, and limped off, meal forgotten, apparently trying to walk off the pain.

As Keera ran, Melda flew up beside her, the fairy's body aglow with a shade of deep emerald.

"You saved me!" She called between heavy breaths. Melda merely chimed in response. She was right; there would be time for thanks later. Keera soon returned to Serina, finding her facing off against the second Wolfos. She wasn't sure if she could hold off her enemy much longer without Serina's help, for she assumed her fellow Kokiri was a better fighter than she was. All too soon Keera could hear the snarling behind her. Running to Serina's side, she tried to catch her breath.

"Serina... I escaped, but..." The slow, deliberate approach of the first Wolfos cut her short. "I can't do much..."

"Aria, reckon we can keep it busy?" Melda suggested, a bright flash of emerald showing her readiness. Keera was so proud of her fairy at that moment; she was so brave...

Serina readied more needles. She really wished she'd had the foresight to go back and get her bow earlier, rather than get caught in the moment, but no use now. As she did so, Keera managed to get back, hurriedly and tiredly explaining the situation. Serina never took her eyes off of her foe, though. It was still limping, but it seemed to be gaining strength back. Aria's voice chimed in, "Of course we can! These furballs can't hit the broad side of a tree."

Serina took a deep, shaky breath as she eyed the enemy catching up to them. This was going to be tough. But she couldn't lose her cool now, not now of all times.

"Keera, stay close and watch my back. Melda, that one I just fought it hurt, go keep it busy for a while. Aria, I need you to help me with the one that Keera just led back. Go for the face."

She gave one last command as the fairies darted to their respective enemies. "Nobody get hurt."

The Kokiri girl threw her needles in a stream, but the Wolfos covered its face and blocked them. "Now, Aria!" she yelled, and as the wolf man lowered its furry, clawed hands, the bright red fairy flew in and flashed in its eyes. It howled and covered them, as Serina quickly threw more at its now-unprotected throat. She was sure that some of them went astray in the darkness and her rushing, but it yelped, so at least one connected...

"Melda..."

"Yeah, I'll be careful. You be careful!" Melda cried back before flitting off to the wounded Wolfos. Keera couldn't bring herself to look at her fairy, bravely holding off that man-beast all on her own. It was more than she could do...

"Right." Keera responded curtly, trying to steel herself. But if anything happened to Melda, she would never forgive herself. The healer just couldn't focus on Serina's command. She was doing nothing while her fairy, who must have been one hundredth of her size, was going head to head with a vicious monster.

Keera only had a few seconds to feel useless before the Wolfos, recoiling from the assault of needles, broke into a run on all fours. The beast arched around the two girls, singling out the quivering, long haired one as easy pickings. She screamed as it leapt at her, claws and fangs eager to rend her delicate skin. It was all Keera could do to swing her flute at the Wolfos, who was undeterred by the attempt. Keera's quick strike saved her face from being gnawed, but the force of the impact knocked her to the floor, hard. The adrenaline and panic pumping through her caused the girl to thrash, making it difficult for her foe to slash anything except her arms.

Serina yelled to Aria, flicking her wrist as the Wolfos rebounded and attacked them. "Go help Melda!"

"But--"

"Go!" The Kokiri girl that still stood walked up to the wolf man as he tried to get a better grip on Keera... and kneed it in the head for his assault. She prepared to throw her needles, but the terrible beast-man, mad with rage and hunger, immediately got up and smashed her with an amazing amount of force, sending her reeling back, as she haphazardly threw her fistful of weapons, missing miserably. She was kicked this time, knocking the wind out of her and sending her now-lying down form rolling into a tree.

Somehow, she managed to get herself into a sitting position, pain flowing through her. She could see past him to where the two fairies danced ribbons of light around the other Wolfos, a show of daring and grace. Good...

She sat still, moving only her wrist.

One...

The Wolfos was walking towards her, planning to rid itself of the girl with more bite first.

Two...

It was upon her, slobbering and panting, anticipating its meal of this foolish little bag of flesh.

Three...

It raised its wicked, clawed arm to deliver a final blow.

Now.

Serina took her chance to launch three needles into its shoulder, causing it to howl in pain. She rolled left as the claws came raking right, leaving deep gashes in the tree trunk.

To begin with, it took all of Keera's concentration to regulate her erratic breaths once Serina managed to get the savage beast off her. As the adrenaline let up, the slashes on her arms started to throb painfully. She didn't need to look to know blood was dripping quite rapidly from the wounds. Melda couldn't see these wounds, she'd flip. Keera knew she couldn't even spare a glance at her arms; she was used to seeing injuries on others, but she hadn't had to heal herself before. She placed her fingers on the stained slashes and slowed her breath right down.

Keera managed to invoke her healing powers quickly. The faint white glow wrapped eagerly around her arms, returning the spilt blood into her body and sewing up the sundered skin. The swiftness of the recovery drew on her stamina, causing Keera to be suddenly short of breath. She turned just in time to see Serina fending off the Wolfos with a flurry of needles, but she looked pained.

Desperately, Keera rushed towards Serina, her hands still enveloped in the healing glow. As soon as she could, she placed her hands on her fellow Kokiri. Although there were no visible wounds, Keera could feel the pain inside her. She allowed the magic to flow into Serina, the white light swirling around her mid section as it worked through her body.

A dangerous growl interrupted the healing, causing Keera to shirk behind Serina. Her lungs worked furiously, drawing in as much air as they could. Keera had never had to heal during a fight before.

Serina trembled as the soft glow of her fellow Kokiri's hands slowly but surely expelled the pain. Amazing... So this was what she could do?

The low, bitter growl piercing the night interrupted them, though. Better deal with that one, first, then... She flicked her wrists. She couldn't afford to run around much more. This fight could attract others, and she had to finish it quickly.

As the Wolfos lunged Serina launched needles from both hands into it, piercing its neck six times over. This time, having been struck with quite a few needles, it collapsed, crumpling to the ground without a sound. It seemed that she had, between the lunging motion of her enemy and the several needles, she had managed to finally breach its tough hide to get at its more vulnerable throat.

Seeing its comrade defeated so, the other Wolfos scampered off, running into the night.

Somehow, the girls had survived. Serina let out a sharp sigh of relief, only now allowing her razor-like focus be penetrated by the terrifying, soul-crushing gravity of the situation. She trembled, realizing how closely she had brushed up with death.

Her breathing couldn't get under control. Gasps came too fast, too shallow. She thought she was going to die. Numbness and faintness passed through her. She shook and shook, unable to push the fear away. It had a vice grip on her, and she couldn't even put into words the profound, crushing weight of it.

"A-Are you all right?" She asked the healer, shaking like a leaf.

The sudden silence that consumed the glade once the remaining Wolfos scampered off felt heavy. Keera suddenly remembered to breathe; a life-preserving gasp that set the rest of her body into painful motion. Her limbs ached, and her soul felt... Shaken, exhausted? Her hands were trembling, each finger twitching uncontrollably as more vital breath was sucked into her lungs. Wetness welled in the corners of her eyes, accompanying her voice which slid into the gasps. Before she succumbed completely to hysteria, Melda's comforting green light filled her vision. She could just about make out the tiny fairy's face; shining eyes that met her tear-soaked gaze.

"It's over. You're an idiot, but it's over." Melda chimed endearingly, not moving from Keera's eyes until her breath had slowed and her voice had regulated. Calmly, the healer closed her eyes, finding solace within herself with a deep, gentle breath. She wiped her eyes dry before turning to Serina, Melda sticking closer than ever.

"Yes..." She said, her voice trailing into a soft whisper. She could see her fellow Kokiri shaking, but there was nothing her magic could do to heal that kind of discomfort. Besides, Keera could feel that she was at her limit; one more attempt at healing and she might have toppled over herself. "You..."

...Saved my life, is what she was going to say.

"...We succeeded. We defeated them." Keera didn't want to ponder for even half a second on her death, which most certainly would have occurred, had she wondered out here alone. Several more breaths. "Can you walk? We should return..."