World Tree MUSH

    What a cold and lonely meeting place...
    Half way up Snowpeak mountsin in Hyrule's Peak Province, the actual meeting point is not the fortified manor nestled close to the peak, but in one of the many caves that dot the mountain's side, in order to preserve the secrecy of the manor's location.
    Rydia has called together a hunting party. For what exact purpose, though she has told very few people, and scraped together some means of reaching out beyond the normal residents of Snowpeak, to pull together a group she felt would be suitable for the needs of her particular game. The Summoner, herself, is nestled in the back of the cave, away from the crackling fire set up so that the others could arrive, warm up and ready themselves before she explains everything.

  What better hunting companion than a princess? Aristocrats like hunting, right? Wrong. Zelda had confessed to having no real taste for hunting, in spite of her skills. The princess is also a priestess and a healer, though, and so she's come along.

  So, Zelda is layered in the warmest clothing she could lay hands on, seated before the fire in her hooded cloak, fingers splayed before the toasty-warm campfire.

    Being a goddess should make one immune to the cold, Athena thinks. She's bitterly regretting the lack of this fact being true! Even bundled up - with some light, flexible armor underneath thanks to Copen reminding her why something is better than nothing - she's rubbing her sides and grumbling at the cold. Puff! Her breath is visible too!

    Athena as usual carries a rifle and pistol, but her rifle is much smaller this time, to make room for the walking staff... no, the spear she is carrying. Making her way into the cave has her grumbling louder before tugging her hood down, trying to soak up the warmth of the fire. "I tried to see if Artemis was about yet, but I still haven't made contact with her. I suppose that would be too easy." A heaving sigh leaves her lips. "Hello again, Rydia." She knows the summoner, but the others are getting her eyes on them for more curiosity.

    Goku has little trouble navigating the treacherous and frigid paths of snowpeak! Since he has his winter clothing, anyways. If he wasn't all bundled up, the boy with the tail might be in trouble.

    For now though, he just bounces from perch to perch, viewing a weird leaping a s the quickest way to navigate the drifts and buried pathways.

    But he understands that the Snowpeak residents don't have it easy and Rydia might need help with something! So the boy's answered the call to gather!

    And once he locates the cave entrance...

    "I found it!" ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP! He dashes free of the clinging mounds of snow and charges through the cave like a bullet from a gun and stops near the fire, grinning goofily. "Hey everyone! Took me a bit to find this cave. What's up?"

Link on the other hand is quite enthusiastic about hunting, insofar as he can be ascertained to be enthusiastic about anything in his current form. He currently sits next to Zelda, alert and attentive with his ears perked up.

He continues to be deeply thankful for his thick hide and fur, which make the cold more than passably bearable whether he's sheltered or no. In answer to the greetings of pretty much everyone -- but Goku in particular -- the great wolf barks a friendly greeting of his own.

    It's normal to hunt in foreboding black plate mail, right? Because that's what someone here is doing. The spikey-armored, looming figure with a blade, arms crossed and standing near Rydia, practicing his Brood Skill. His eyes take in every newcomer he hasn't met yet, meeting Athena's with uncertain curiosity, and only mild incredulousness about Goku.

    Yumi Tachibana is here.

    Yumi Tachibana is here, with a baseball bat slung over her shoulder.

    Yumi is not sure why she is here with a baseball bat over her shoulder. But Rydia is hunting... something? And wants her there for... reasons? Well, if Rydia's asking, theat's enough for her. So crunch crunch crunch goes the snow outside the cave, as a bundled-up Japanese redhead (well, cream-orange) makes her way in. "Ah, hello? Is this the... oh, yeah, I guess it must be, huh." There's Zelda, there's a wolf that must be Link, there's that monkey boy, that's Cecil, and there's... person... Yumi doesn't know? Athena gets a curious look from the girl, and then a bow of greeting. "Ah, hello, I don't think we've met. Tachibana Yumi."

    She also takes a brief moment to wander over and give Link a quick ruffle hello. Despite knowing he's a person, she can't quite help the Good Boy reflex.

    Though she's looking a little on the cold side, Rydia is at least looking mostly recovered from her last run in with Copen. She had returned to Snowpeak pale and close to catatonic, and locked herself away, refusing to speak about just what happened while out with Terra to go visit Peach. But the Summoner is nothing if not resilient and has rebounded to a state that's passably healthy enough to go out hunting the big game. Rydia shudders once, thinking about that terrible fiasco, but manages to pass if off as a shiver due to the cold, by bundling her Wolfos skin cloak tighter about herself, and lingering a little closer to Cecil's imposing, but protetive presence.
    Everyone is mostly here. It's a good enough time to start explaining things, and Rydia picks herself up.
    "Ah... Athena." She murmurs, on sight of the goddess. It's an awkward moment to follow, and one hand almost reflexively rises to where Athena's blood had splashed on her face but Rydia stops herself, and murmurs a quiet "Thank you." For what she doesn't go into it as she edges only just slightly closer to the fire, giving in to her need for warmth over her wild fears. "Hello, Goku, Yumi." She greets the other two, as they arrive. So why is everyone here?
    "I've already told Sheik this, but I should let everyone in on it, now that we're all here." She says, taking a deep breath and spending a beat to look for the words.
    "I'm looking to bind a White Wolfos." She comes out with it. "For those of you that don't know, they're like wolves, but far larger and far more aggressive. And they hunt in packs. Link-" She says motioning for the green wolf, "Has a lot of experience hunting them already, and he's cleared a fair chunk of the mountain of their presence, but there should be more than enough for me to find what I want. Just... Be careful, don't split off from the group, and look out for each other, okay?"
    That's the briefing. And as she tugs her cloak about herself tightly, she leads out into the snow.
    For this trip, instead of heading up the mountain, she leads down- into a snowy forested region closer to the foot of Snowpeak. But it doesn't matter whether it's higher or lower in altitude. As soon as everyone is in through the trees, there's the ominous sensation of being watched...

  The Hylian lifts her gaze from the fire she'd been staring at as Athena comes stamping and shivering in from the cold. The name draws no recognition, but the weapons do. The firearms are regarded for a long moment. Thinning her lips, Zelda flicks a glance back at Rydia, but the Summoner's reaction isn't hostile.

  The Saiyan's enthusiastic entrance likewise earns a long, flat look before recognition dawns. "I remember you," she says, at length. Her voice is soft, quiet, not quite whispery. "You have my thanks. Your efforts were a great help." But for the most part, she seems to be letting his child-like enthusiasm roll off her back, remaining calm. Or alert. It's hard to ay which. Cecil earns a polite nod; probably friendlier than he might expect, being a Dark Knight, but Zelda's made a point of looking past that.

  As far as her acquaintances here are concerned, she's Just A Hylian, her name is Sheik, and she was a servant of the royal family before the kingdom's collapse.

  Also some kind of low-grade priestess and a scary good archer, which may come in handy if it's needed. But this sure isn't somebody important. Nope.

  "Tachibana Yumi." She manages a faint half-smile. "Welcome."

  And off they go, back into the wind and weather. Zelda pulls her hood up and files after the others, but she does it smart-like -- she follows Cecil, whose bulk in that armour makes for a convenient path to follow. She doesn't say much. It's all her effort just to muscle through all the snow.

    "Oh hey, mister wolf!" With another little laugh, Goku waves Link's way - but he freezes the motion when his gaze falls across Cecil entering the cave. Blink blink. Something about the Dark Knight's presence has given him cause to pause. And follow the warrior's movement. All the while his tail twitches unevenly.

    "Are you.. Rydia's friend?" The boy guesses, deducing that possibility easily enough. "My name's Goku! What's yours?" Is all he can really tink of bringing up with the dark knight.

    As usual he doesn't recognize half of the people who've come. So his attention swoops from one person to the next with childish excitement and curiosity! Even as Rydia explains the deal he's sizing up people. Boys and girls alike, as he's recently discovered that girls can be pretty capable.

    And with Rydia having given the wolf a name, Goku gives the fuzziest guy here another good look. "Link?" The name's just echoed into the air, as Goku just now realizes he didn't know the wolf's name. Oops!

    "Rydia!" With an enthusiastic leap, Goku crosses the distance and lands opposite of Cecil, on Rydia's other side! "What do you mean 'bind' a Wolfos?"

The Sacred Beast barks when attention is called to his experience in hunting White Wolfos. They've eaten a fair amount of the stuff in the preceding weeks, enough so that he was already sick of them. Not that they were really -good- eating to start with, although most anything was palatable to him. It turns out that when you're basically turning into a dog, you're also capable of eating almost anything without flinching, just like a dog. He does tilt his head slightly at the idea of /binding/ a White Wolfos, though. It's not really that much more farfetched than wanting a dog, really.

Just...

Bigger.

He shoots Yumi a slightly irritated look at being ruffled, but nods in her direction in acknowledgement of the intent of the greeting. Link still has a bit of a difficulty with his internal reaction to people touching on him. It depends a little on where, exactly.

But it's a lot better than when he first transformed.

In reaction to Goku's questioning of his name, Link nods and barks affirmatively. Couldn't get much more clear than that. Then he follows after Zelda, trotting up to her side and remaining there. The goal of this one isn't to -kill- the Wolfos, so playing point man isn't very helpful here. He'll wait until they find one and then run interference by harassing it from the flank.

    Stare. Stare. Staaaaaare. Athena is distracted by a weird staring going on at Zelda, and she can't pull herself out of it until Yumi introduces herself and she remembers other strangers are here. "Huh? Oh. Athena. Pallas Athena, but just call me Athena for now. Sorry, I was... thinking."

    When Rydia explains what they're doing, she mouths 'bind' as well, but after seeing Leviathan - up close - it clicks in her head. She looks at her spear, then nods, "So no killing. Hm. Remind me to call on you if we ever find Scylla. Maybe I can thank your friend." Because playing matchmaker with Leviathan is a great idea.

    She doesn't acknowledge Rydia thanking her though. It even makes her look uncomfortable.

    "I'm not sure why you'd need me for this," she admits, but she's going to move with everyone else! Her spacial sense should give her a decent chance to help in the event of an ambush anyway. Too bad it isn't long range enough to really help hunt anything down, an actual tracker will need to do that.

    Blink. "Pallas Athena? As in, ah...?" It's entirely possible that this may actually be /the/ Athena, after all; Yumi doesn't know that for sure, but she's met the legendary Kiyohime, so anything's possible at this point.

    But Rydia has dropped the 'bomb'. They're... they're capturing a Wolfos. A white one, no less. The look Yumi gives the younger girl is best described as 'dubious', but hey, if she thinks it's a good idea. Zelda gets a cheerful grin of greeting as Yumi turns herself to fall in with the group moving out. In fact, she'll probably end up falling in close to the princess as they walk. "Hello, Sheik. Sorry I haven't been in contact, things have been a bit busy at school."

    "Cecil Harvey," Cecil says, introducing himself to those who don't know him. He is being quiet tonight, but when Rydia announces her intention he takes it in stride. Hand on his sword hilt moves to rest on his shield, and the armored knight moves forward protectively. If they can't kill it, then an armored knight to blunt the assault while the others capture is a good idea.

    "Yumi, that's a good choice for this," he notes offhandedly. It's good to be encouraging. "These aren't simple beasts to begin with, as I understand. Catching it alive will make things harder."

    "If we're lucky, we'll run into a lone one." Rydia states a mild hope. That would make things so much easier and simpler. Small as she is, she actually lets someone else take to 'leading'. It's a standard herd tactic of many animals to keep the weak and the young enclosed amid all the others. Though she looks somewhat awkward whe Goku bounds so close. "Don't mind how Cecil dresses or acts. ... He's not a bad man." She notes to the Saiyan. But Athena gets something of a wet-kitten look from the Summoner. Summoning Leviathan went completely sideways and it's a sting to the child's pride. "Scylla?" She does ask though, unfamiliar with the name- unfamiliar with the lore behind Athena, herself, as Yumi seems to put it to question.
    For those who are curious and don't know, though, she explains as she walks. "Bind it. Yes. So I can call on it and make it fight for me when I need it to." She spots the tilt of Link's head though. And what she has seen of the sizes of the dead Wolfos he has brought to Snowpeak manor for cooking, she knows well enough to respect the potential threat they can be. "I know what I'm doing. I hope." She asides to the Sacred Beast as she lingers closer to Zelda during the trip.
    It's a good hour before that sense of being watched turns... Hostile. Whatever it was had been sizing up the group, but now seems to be the moment chosen for a strike, as something large and white flashes through the trees.
    And then another.
    And another.
    Another, and another.
    "... I don't know if we found them or they found us." Rydia murmurs, her left hand freeing the dagger from her belt, right hand uncoiling the whip at her hip.
    It's not one. It's a whole pack, circling the hunting party.

  "Forgive me. I didn't introduce myself." Zelda stumbles through the wake left by Cecil, struggling valiantly to keep up with the group. "My name is Sheik. I was a servant of this kingdom's royal family, and a priestess of Hylia. I'm no hunter, but I can mend wounds."

  Too bad there weren't any snowshoes in Snowpeak Ruins' armoury. Failing that, part of her wishes she'd brought her horse. It would've made this a lot easier, but at least she can ride Cecil's wake. She'll have to thank him for that, later.

  Zelda glances over as Link takes his place beside her, but she doesn't have the breath to speak, concentrating on keeping up. Athena, however, does earn a glance from the beleaguered princess. There's no fear in her regard, though; only a cool curiosity. She's thoughtful. Does she suspect...?

  "Nothing to apologise for." Zelda manages a smile for Yumi, breath fogging in front of her. "I've been occupied with managing... repairs..."

  Zelda trails off, calmly shrugging her bow off her shoulder and nocking an arrow from the quiver at her hip. She doesn't draw until what seems like the smallest one bounds between the trees. Then the bowstring creaks as she draws it back to her pointed ear. She releases her pull, a grey-fletched arrow hissing for the skull of the smallest and hopefully weakest Wolfos.

The Sacred Beast hears and smells the incoming Wolfos before he sees them, which is just as well because they blend into the environment around here. He breaks off from Zelda without much warning, pushing towards one of the Wolfos as quickly as he can-- which turns out to be pretty quick. An ear twitches as Zelda's bow is drawn. He veers towards another of the circling Wolfos, but diverts when the whistle of the arrow reaches his ears. Just as soon as the arrow has landed, whether in flesh or elsewhere, Link corrects course and simply barrels towards -- and if possible, into -- the Wolfos Zelda was attacking full speed.

His immediate priority is to create a hole in the circle. The best way to do that is to focus on whoever looks small enough, and to focus fire. Since Zelda chose a target ahead of him, he chooses her target because getting harassed from multiple directions is pretty much the M.O. of fighting things like this AND being fought by things like this.

Hence Link's haste to disrupt whatever semblance of an organized formation the Wolfos have. The quicker theirs falls apart, the quicker /his/ group can execute on one of their own, and pin down whichever wolfos Rydia decides to bind. If they don't whittle down the numbers quick enough, it'll be too difficult to fight with sparing force.

    Oh Yumi seems to recognize her! Athena smiles upon Yumi! Literally though, which doesn't do much at the moment. "Yes, probably that Athena. The situation is... complicated." That's all she's going to say right now about her divinity, but Yumi's recognition really did make her day.

    She shakes her head, "Scylla was... is... it's a bad joke in poor taste, because she's a wrathful creature that lived by the sea. Vanity brought her ruin." Pot, kettle.

    'Sheik" is given another long look. "A priestess. I see." She decides to leave it be. Maybe she's a very blessed priestess? "I'm not familiar with Hylia. Your gods must not be the same as mine."

    But sooner or later, the hunt will need to start. And it does. With the rapid response of a few of them, Athena is surprisingly slow... or maybe she's just getting a feel for her comrades. After things start moving she makes her own move, lowering her spear and turning some. "Form a circle to protect our long range attackers. Cover our backs, make it hard to approach us. Stay close for now." She doesn't know the tactics of these creatures, so the default 'keep themselves from being outflanked' is her first idea. She doesn't pull her pistol though, keeping the spear to harry and jab at any that approach, making them wary. She hopes.

    Not a bad man, huh? Goku seems to take this at face value, smiling up at Cecil Harvey and giving the dark knight an acknowledging little nod. Still, the chitchat time is up, and so Goku heads out with the others gfor the long quest to locate some Wolfos in the snow!

    This idea of turning an animal into your fighting partner has him curious. Though so does the prospect of seeing what all of these people can DO. He might discover a new sparring partner today and it has him feeling giddily hopeful!

    That's dampened the moment he catches that whiff of predator. The nose knows, and Goku's is actually sharper than it oughtta be! "--Hmmmmnnnn!" He has little experience fighting in such thick snow... but, surrounded by Wolfos?

    "Th-they look pretty mean and hungry, Rydia! You really want one of these?!" Bereft of any real plan, Athena's 'suggestions' reach him and he immediately sees the wisdom in having someone at his back... and not getting too far from the softer targets here. A step forward he was starting to take is cut in half, and Goku adjusts his stance... then SPRINGS into motion!

    His goal? Plant a FLYING KICK into the side of one of those circling Wolfos and send it sprawling across the snows, but use the rebound from that impact to backflip back into position!

    Trouble is here. Cecil was quiet through most of the trip, but that's usual for him. Brood brood. Actually he isn't really brooding tonight, just thoughtful, but slogging through the snow in silence doesn't help his image of being brooding.

    "What...?" Huh, an entire pack? Even before Athena orders it, Cecil is moving in to protect Rydia, raising his shield. Zelda and Link are already on the attack, but they both know these creatures. Cecil doesn't, so his sword comes out in preparation... but it's his shield he's focusing on. The more impulsive sorts can... scream and do jump kicks while he protects the casters. "This feels so backwards for some reason..."

    Welp. She's officially walking with a goddess. Sort-of. Yumi pushes down her desire to be /very enthused/ about this, and instead just gives Cecil a nod. "Wasn't sure what we were up here for, and it's not like I have a lot of choices in weaponry. I figured I'd bring it, and if it was no good, I'd just figure something else out." An hour's walk is a bit of a hike, for certain, but with pleasant company it's not intolerable by any stretch. At least, until "who's hunting who" becomes a legitimate question.

    Her movements are slow and deliberate, carefully unshouldering the bat without making any sudden movements that will spur the pack to action; she doesn't want to accidentally set them off before she - or anyone else - is ready. She's a little hesitant to move to the front line per Athena's orders, though; Yumi is many things, but 'suited to facing down wolves head-on' is not one of them, and these aren't even ordinary wolves. "I'll stay inside the circle. If any of them get past the front line, I can do something about it."

    A yelp from the trees says that Zelda's aim was true- and in the next instant the panicked snarling to follow further says that the smallest Wolfos of the pack is still alive by the time Link is upon it. How alive it will be in the next few seconds is solely at Link's discrestion, as the runt of the pack is distracted with the arrow jutting out of its neck. Though it tries to swipe at the sacred beast, the blow is sluggish and pitiful thanks to the disastrous arrow wound.
    Rydia immediately plants herself in the center of the circle forming up, by Yumi. Luckily the Wolfos pack chose to attack while the group was in a small clearing, so there's some space for maneuvering, but it also means the beasts can break out of the treeline, for a hit and run into the opposing side- and that is what happens, when one breaks through the trees and pounces at Cecil. It's easily as big as he is. Another breaks the treeline to rush Athena, just as Goku lands his kick into the tough hide of a monstrously huge Wolfos that comes snarling out of the forest.
    "... That one..." Rydia says as soon as she sees the sheer *size* of the beast as it turns its attention on the great green wolf that has killed so many of is brethren on the mountain. With a howl, it charges Link, revenge and murder gleaming in its eyes. "The Alpha. That's the one we're taking." She calls before beginning to rapidly chant. It's a hasty flowing series of words, before she declares "Thunder!"
    A bolt of lightning streaks down from the skies and lances into the Wolfos charging for Athena. It doesn't stop the rush, but it presents a brief opening as its movements twitch and, jerk while trying to claw and bite.

  No sooner does something beyond the trees yelp than Zelda is shouldering her bow and swinging herself up into the nearest cedar tree. From there she pulls herself hand over hand to a vantage point. To Link's nose, she smells like terror, but the move is a tactical one. She can shoot better from up here.

  Settling into a fork between branches, the Hylian leans forward and fits another arrow to the string. Zelda squints into the churning snow as Rydia marks her target, lightning snapping around the biggest monster of the bunch.

  She looks back down, drawing her shot and taking aim not at Link's target -- she might hit him in that tangle -- but at the next smallest Wolfos, letting fly her arrow.

In the moment, Link doesn't really have the presence of mind not to kill. One enemy down is one less enemy attacking them, and so when he has the opportunity to finish it he does so. He accomplishes this not by biting it as he might have were there not an arrow sticking out of its neck, but by simply seizing the shaft of the arrow and jerking it out as the Wolfos tries to snap at him. The arrow itself remaining there kept that wound from being immediately fatal. Having it jerked out like that is a death sentence.

He moves away from the doomed smallest wolfos immediately, dropping the arrow to the ground and searching for the next nearest enemy. It turns out that Link really didn't need to go looking for an enemy.

The Sacred Beast meets the howl and aggression of the Alpha with a charge of his own that, almost certainly, immediately turns into a massive ball of murderous fluff and blood. In the moment he's definitely being more aggressive and rough than is desirable in light of the goal of -not- killing the Alpha, but on the other hand he is in fact trying to keep it from escalating that far.

Link knows that this one needs to be kept occupied and he IS making an attempt. Problem is, he's kind of caught in the moment and needs to act with a certain amount of aggression just to be a credible actor in the fight itself.

The Alpha Wolfos making it through the engagement as intact as is desired is probably contingent on keeping Link from being pressured so hard that survival instincts override reason.

    It's great that Rydia has selected a wolfos, but it doesn't matter if the group can't survive! Yumi's decision is met with a frown, but Athena isn't going to argue. She'll have to explain why that was a terrible idea in her mind later. Maybe she doesn't realize that Yumi isn't on the same level as the other adventurers here yet!

    Charging wolfos to worry about! The thunder crashing down to distract the beast gives her a quick opening, and Athena shows why she chose the spear for this hunt. She's a great shot with a rifle, but with a spear she shows a fluid, expert movement of someone long used to the weapon. A crouch and thrust to meet the animal is timed and aimed so that it will, even if it impales itself, be thrust to the side.

    She's here to protect the circle, which takes priority over a clean kill. This isn't a boar hunt.

    For the moment, Yumi remains within the circle, and the wolves remain out; Athena, Goku and Cecil form a solid enough defense, such that all the girl needs to do for the moment is keep her bat at the ready. She does, at the very least, shift into a protective posture, keeping herself between Rydia and the majority of the wolves at all times. And however much a liability she might be as a meat shield, at the very least she's got good battle awareness, constantly turning her head, watching and listening, keeping careful track of every Wolfos around them.

    "Good stance," Cecil says, noting it to Yumi. Rydia has picked out a Wolfos, but until the others are fully safe, Cecil isn't going to be able to help out Link with it. The wolf is more suited for direct confrontation right now anyway, as opposed to protection. Cecil is here to keep the pack off the lighter ones.

    Athena's handling of the spear isn't surprising, but it is impressive enough that he takes note. "You're good," he mutters, deciding Rydia had a real reason for inviting the bossy woman. Her tactics were sound against an unknown opponent though, he decides... even if the sheer mass of the oncoming Wolfos is making him worry. "Incoming!"

    His blade is out, because he has no issues with stabbing this one, but the thrust isn't done with full intent to kill. Not because he isn't willing to kill it, but because the high speed pounce can't be dodged, and he has to lift his shield to take the brunt of the leap with a loud thudding and a sudden grunt, the knight stumbling back from the sheer impact and getting jarred heavily.

    Goku's foot is like steel, and yet his flying kick with all that strength behind it fails to bowl over the Alpha. He does bounce away though, just in time to avoid claws and fangs. Sailing backwards in a reverse somersault, he lands in the snow and sinks in a good foot but maintains a comat stance!

    "That one, huh?! It's HUGE!" Hopefully Rydia knows what she's doing, because Goku doesn't have a clue how this binding thing works!

    "That thing's tough... tough enough that I don't have to hold back TOO much!" He doesn't fancy getting up close and personal with Link and the Alpha, but he DOES need to help subdue that creature. So, suppressing his energies to a careful level, he brings his palms together at his side... "Kaaaaa Meeee Haaaa Meeee... Haaaaaa!!!"

    It's one of the WEAKEST energy waves the boy has ever launched, but he thrusts his hands forward and unleashes a small, bulbuous headed beam that has the added bonus of parting the covering snows and exposing some proper footing!

    The Kamehameha, carefully controled so it will hit like a HAMMER rather than a VAPORIZING BOMB, careens for the Alpha's side!

>> SUMMARY[Goku] >> Fires a held-back KameHameHa Wave at the Wolfos in an effort to bowl it over and exhaust it.

  The princess watches the two wolves clashing below, a tangle of bristling fur; flashes of white teeth, red blood, and mad beasts' eyes. White Wolfos seem to have the rictus grin of a skull on the best of days, with their wide and toothsome mouths, but it seems stretched to grotesque proportions in battle.

  Don't kill it. Zelda's silent mental command reaches Link like a whipcrack. He might get an impression of her own senses in a flurry of impressions -- cold wind, the dryness of her mouth in her fear, the creak of her elbow as she fights to hold her shot. Not because she wants him to sense any of it, but because of the urgency of her command. Can you hold it if I help you restrain it?

  Hopefully he remembers Snowpeak, and the way she had pinned down the Twilight Messenger so her friends could kill it. She might need to lay hands on something this powerful, though, but if she doesn't help Link, he's liable to get carried away and kill it, since he can't pull his punches.

    Link rips the arrow free of the Wolfos' neck and it jerks as though slapped. The arrow HAD been keeping the wound from bleeding out, but as soon as the great green wolf yanks the shaft free there's a burst of arterial spray. Zelda's shot had been true indeed as the sudden and intense loss of blood and crashing blood pressure sends the Wolfos runt into shock. It collapses in short succession, leaving the green-furred hero to tussle with the Alpha.
    Incoming indeed, as Athena and Cecil face down two larger specimens. They're nowhere near as big as the Alpha, but they are easily man-sized beasts. Claws batter and scrape at the dark knight's shield as his blade draws blood and a yelp of pain. For all it tries to get through his defenses, it can't though.
    "Yumi! Other side!" Rydia says, darting for Cecil's left to insert herself under the Wolfos' distracted guard and jam her dagger into its side, motioning for Yumi to get in opposite in a pincer.
    The Wolfos that charges Athena lunges- and momentum is against it. The beast impales itself on her spear, but doesn't DIE on it. Not instantly, at least. Though much of the fight is taken out of the beast in that moment as it topples to the side as she had intended it, it simply tries ripping her legs out from under her.
    The Kamehameha wave slams the Alpha just as it leaps to tackle Link. It's bowled off course with a snarl, landing on all four feet and glancing to the rest of his pack. His now decimated pack. This seems to be when it decides discretion is the better part of valor, growling as it begins to back away, looking ready to turn tail and run any second.
    "-Don't let him get way!" Rydia calls out.

Restrain? The thought bubbles out of Link's mind in a strange way, as if the notion hadn't occurred to him.

The surge of energy building through Goku causes the Sacred Beast's fur to stand on end, even though the imminent attack is simply pending. He seems to take the calculated risk of potentially getting hit by it though, and remains in close proximity with the Alpha Wolfos regardless of imminent danger. Turns out his caution was unwarranted, because the Wolfos doesn't end up reaching him before it gets swatted away by the energy blast.

Link takes advantage of this opening to rush forward while the Alpha Wolfos is still recovering and come in all teeth towards one of its back legs, trying to trip it up and keep it hobbled. Having been brought out of his bloodlust by the pressure of battle being relieved, Link seems to recover some fraction of his ability to strategize and coordinate with others.

Restrain He repeats, this time as a statement. It's probably a good thing Zelda tried to communicate with him just now. Link's mindset is obviously more wolfish than man at the moment.

    For as much as she might downplay her own combat ability, Yumi at least has that lack of hesitation that so often proves an asset on the battlefield. "Right!" No pause, no instant of confusion; when Rydia calls out, the redhead moves. She shifts right around Cecil, in fact, a smooth and flowing step that she also uses to transfer momentum into her bat in a way that only further proves the knight's statement. "HAA!" The hefty maple club slings around and above, coming down from the one side while Rydia stabs upward from the other. It's a heavy, powerful swing, and it's aimed straight for the monster's spine.

    BAM! The wolfos takes a heavy hit from the coordinated effort. This fils Goku with glee that he eagerly shows, a triumphant little laugh escaping the young Saiyan! But then... "Agh-- you're not getting away!"

    It's hard to manuever in the snow, but Goku's a clever little monkey boy sometimes. Thinking quickly... he grabs the red bo staff from the holster on his back, slams on end of it into the ground at a VERY sharp angle and... "POWER POLE EXTEND!"

    The weapon glows brightly and WHOOOOSH. He's off at a steep angle, traveling more horizontally than vertically. For quite a long distance, too. Gravity says he should not be able to keep the pole at that angle! And... eventually, it does catch up to him.

    Goku hits the ground skidding with the massively extended weapon still clutched carefully in both hands. It's unhaingly like this, and has begun to shrink... but Goku swings it anyways! "HYA!"

    A simple THWACK perhaps to the noggin if his aim's good, meant to knock the wolfos for a loop!

    It's a good thing that Athena wore armor under her clothing this time. Too bad it's not her heavier stuff, because these things are big! The claws tear at her legs, and while they don't maul her she flinches as she feels the impact. No blood drawn, thankfully, but it's enough that she is dropping to one knee!

    The spear whips around to crack the butt against the wolfos shen she has the chance, then a roll away! She's going to try to stand up, and thanks to her own abilities she doesn't need to be looking at her allies to come up smoothly in formation again. If Cecil still needs help, she'll turn to him... but she has a feeling that the knight can take care of himself.

    The larger Alpha is taking a beating, isn't he? "Rydia, do you think you've gotten it?"

    Huh. Cecil is trying to protect Yumi and Rydia, and here they are coming around and attacking for him? That's... okay then, and it gives him a chance to get a better look at Yumi's technique up close.

    "There-" he says suddenly, seeing the opening. His shield surges forward, and with a sudden twist, the knight thrusts his blade again, this time going for a killing stroke to join in with the other two in a deadly combination attack. Yes, Athena, he's got this... even fighting defensively.

    This clears up his attention to... well, he can't just hurl darkness at the Alpha, but he can sidle to the side, to make sure nothing pounces at Rydia while she approaches. "You have this," he says, more in encouragmenet than question.

    The Alpha's cohorts do not fare well. Rydia and Yumi working together deal stunning blows that leave the monstrous wolf beast unable to defend itself from the third blow, coming from Cecil's life-sapping blade. The Wolfos tenses briefly, giving one last growl before going limp on the end of Cecil's sword. Rydia leaves it to Cecil and Yumi to make sure the thing is actaully dead or not.
    Because there's still the one Athena is handling- which takes a stunning blow of the spear's shaft across its jaws, staggering the beast and making it collapse in a heap. It's not dead, but if no one kills it in a moment it will be getting up- and likely running when it sees what happens next.
    The Alpha may be large, but he's dealt a staggering blow atop the skull from the power pole. Though it tries to flee now, the sudden crunch of jaws around its hind leg draws a snarl of pain. But try as it might to jerk away from the Sacred Beast, Link has it temporarily hamstrung.
    Long enough for Rydia to *CRACK* her whip at the beast for its attention.
    The Wolfos snaps its head to the Summoner- figure so small in comparison that it could break her with a single swipe if it chose, but she cracks the whip again before coiling it around her free hand and tugging the leather taut in her grasp.
    "You are bested in combat." She says firmly, not wavering as she draws dangerously close. "I bind you by the ancient contracts forged between the Summoners of Mist and the Eidolons. You will come when I call you, or you will die here and now."
    The Wolfos is able to tell this is no idle threat, with Link's jaws around his ankle, and the rest of his pack decimated. It snarls, it snaps at Rydia, but she cracks her whip again and it silences. The Alpha Wolfos is humbled, and dips its hed, tail tucking between legs, reluctantly letting the last Summoner of Mist set her hand on its head, growling lowly, but given little other choice.
    It's a tense moment. But when she retracts her hand, Rydia heaves a sigh of blatant relief. "Yeah. Yeah, it's done.

  The Hylian can't do much more than watch from her vantage point, shouldering her bow once it's clear she can't get any more clear shots. Zelda loops an arm around the trunk and cranes forward, just in time to see the beast bow its head and do homage to its new master.

  "Well done, Rydia!"

  Zelda's voice is faint, because she's still clinging to the top of a slightly distant tree. Wait, shouldn't she be climbing down by now...?

  There comes from Zelda's tree a great cacaphony of breaking branches, a yelp, and falling pine needles as the princess catches herself on another branch.

  She'll just be... down in a few minutes.

    Down it goes, with a beastly final strike by Cecil. Yumi backs off and to one side, a cautious step that puts her back under Cecil's defense, but carefully peeks around - and then takes a step or two around again to give it a nudge with her bat. Nudge nudge. "I think it's-"

    Cracklecracksnapyelp.

    "Oh-!" Yumi is running for the tree immediately, trying to position herself underneath it in case the branches become more terminally fragile in the next few moments. "Ah, Sheik, are... are you alright up there?"

Link is more than passingly relieved to be able to stop biting the rear leg of the Alpha Wolfos. He observes what Rydia is doing with great interest... but gets distracted when Zelda has an accident. His ears swivel back to focus on her direction as branches snap and crack, but by the time he has it in his mind to go give her a hand Yumi is already attending to it. So he just sits down and listens. Besides.

He doesn't have a hand to give anyway.

    Breathing hard is another pain that Athena doesn't like about having a mostly mortal body, but it's another fact of life. Or did she do that as a goddess before? Bah.

    Zelda's falling is something she can 'see' with her odd senses, but only vaguely. She starts to rush to catch... but Yumi is already there! "Huh... she has the potential..." It's a grudging admiration for how Yumi rushes to aid despite not being strong herself.