World Tree MUSH

  Early evening sun slants over Peak province's jagged skyline, casting the snow in shades of pink and orange. In most other places in Hyrule, people are sitting down to supper at the table.

  Snowpeak's ruins have been under repair for weeks. During that time, the princess has been overseeing and orchestrating the small army of repair crews. The exhaustion is telling, though, and she's been sleeping every time she's had a spare five minutes.

  Most of the stronghold's rooms have been repaired and improved. Where there had been a curious lack of royal imagery before, the Hyrulean wing-crest has been made tastefully ubiquitous, gracing door frames and other accents as it would the castle. Rooms have been given a warmer and more inviting architectural style. Even the Temple of Hylia's been spruced up a little. Its windows were given stained glass, geometric patterns that shatter the light into a thousand radiant colours during the morning hours.

  It's here the princess can be found now that the sun's begun its descent. The steaming water of the spring is cast in shades of peach and orange, and so is Zelda's white prayer dress. She stands hip-deep in the water with her hands folded at her stomach. Her chin is dipped until it nearly touches her chest; her eyes are closed. Most of her face is calm, but her brow is knitted, as though whatever answers the goddesses give her are unsatisfactory. Or, perhaps, they've given her none.

  She's asked Rydia to join her, suggesting she'd be finished with her silent prayers any time now; to just come in regardless of what the princess is doing.

    And Rydia... Rydia of Mist has largely been inactive for the past week. Since she hunted down her latest Summon monster with the aid of the residents of Snowpeak she's had no need to truly leave the manor, so it's not out of the ordinary to see her wandering the halls, berating a slacking worker. The girl's tongue is as sharp and stinging as her whip when she chooses to be.
    Other times she can be seen in the courtyard, whip in hand, working on bending the Alpha Wolfos to her will and training it properly. It takes nerves of steel to make such demands from a beast that could easily snap her up in its jaws, but she manages.
    Tonight though, she's waiting patiently just outside the door to the temple of Hylia. She knocked once to announce her presence, but had largely remained outside the door to let Zelda finish her prayers before creaking the door open, curiously, just enough for one green eye to peek in and see if the princess is ready to see her.

    Another event at the Shrine! It's something; being idle due to previous injuries while others around her have been quite productive with their time has been trying for the young woman's nerves. So, she's up and about once again! No harassing large canid animals or workers, whether busy or somewhat slacking. No, no.

    Instead, the half-Esper finds herself drawn toward the shrine. Curiosity is a powerful draw as well as concern for Rydia. Not that she'd openly admit to her doting attitude toward her fellow green-hair for fear of that sharp tongue but she's been through reflection with Zelda and her goddess. She can't say it was unpleasant but she certainly feels that lending moral support, if nothing else, might be appropriate.

    "I'm not sure she's finished," Terra offers. "However I do believe you'd be welcome to enter whenever you'd like. She was like this when, ah, I was here last with her."

  The princess' eyes open slowly, and she straightens from her bowed-head stance. She releases her hands, letting her arms lower to her sides, fingers trailing in the steaming water. Her eyes lift to the Goddess Statue, before easing closed again.

  Spring-heated water ripples beneath her fingertips. The room is silent; silent enough that she can hear Terra's commentary from the other side of the door.

  "I can hear you."

  Her soft, matter-of-fact statement is delivered without rancor. Heated springwater ripples beneath her fingertips.

  "I am never finished." Zelda's voice is soft as she pivots with slow deliberation on one bare heel. The stone is warm underfoot. "There is no beginning, and there is no ending; my communion with my Goddesses is an unbroken circle. But please, enter." There's a flicker of a smile across her face, fleet and then gone. "I have already told you that you are not disturbing me at prayer."

  Padding back to the shallows, she reaches for a robe she had draped over the back of a stone bench, shrugging into it and pulling it tight about herself, waiting for both of them to open the door the rest of the way. It is at least a nice robe of thick terrycloth, so it's actually warm.

    In fairness the pair weren't trying to hide from Zelda. Rydia was just trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. It's Terra's voice from behind her that makes the smaller green-haired girl jolt where she stands, before peering back over her shoulder only to see the familiar figure of the half-esper. Rydia lets her shoulders heave in a soft sigh as she allows herself to calm back down. The girl has been jumpy- perhaps too jumpy- since that pleasure cruise gone horribly wrong.
    She opens her mouth to say something- only to jolt again when Zelda calls the both of them out about lingering by the door when they could be just... Walking in.
    It is a somewhat sheepish Summoner that pushes the door open properly and steps inside, no doubt with an Esper(half) in tow. "Sorry, sorry. You just looked really... Peaceful. And busy."

    Ah! Busted! Terra squeaks and reddens a little. She didn't mean to seem so conspiratorial! Startling Rydia was yet another unfortunate side effect that has her bowing her head apologetically. Just the tiniest bit of a guilty blush coloring her features, she follows along with Rydia.

    Pulling the door closed behind, she turns to face both, "I'm sorry. And... yes, you always seem so at peace here. You're always so busy and you work so hard..." That it's rather difficult, for her, seeing someone with so much purpose and drive when she's figuratively stuck in neutral.

    "Thank you, as well, for everything you do." At least, it would seem, the half-Esper has someone to look to as an example of what she might do. Be like. She looks down, then, to Rydia and offers a tentative attempt at a comforting touch to the shoulder. "If you both need privacy I can..."

  The princess gathers her bathrobe about herself, settling onto one of the benches and tucking her feet beneath herself. The posture is one both a little prim and also casual, making her seem less like royalty and more like some irreverent priestess.

  The princess is far too composed to crack a smile, but she can't help a flicker of amusement at their sheepish attitudes.

  "Skies, you two are behaving like children." This time Zelda does crack a smile, if only to take the sting out of her reprimand. "I told you that you were both welcome in here; if there is any place in this entire goddesses-forsaken icebox where anyone is welcome, it is the Temple of Hylia. This is a place of sanctuary."

  She tucks her hands into her sleeves, leaning back against the wall. "Actually, I asked for you," she says, gaze settling intently on Rydia, "because I had a few questions about that new beast of yours. For all that we've been hunted by the wretched things since leaving Eldin Province, I'd like to see what a WHite Wolfos actually looks like up close, if... well... if it's no imposition on the beast, anyway."

  "And you." Zelda's attention flits back to Terra, gaze settling on the other green-haired girl with just as much intensity. "How are you settling in? I fear I've had far too little time to spend with you, and for that I offer my apologies. Have you everything you need here? I'm afraid our hospitality is just a little strained, at the moment." The flicker of a smile across her face is apologetic.

    "In my defense, I'm seven." Rydia says, facetiously hiding behind her age, rather than seriously when jabbed by the princess, once she and Terra enter. But then the girl purses her lips. "I know you asked for me." Confirmed as to why she even came to interrupt the princess in the first place. But then a flicker of confusion flutters across the Summoner's features.
    "You want to ask me about it? I thought you were the expert on them. ... After Link anyway, but his... Expertise is more hands on."
    And violent.
    And lethal to all Wolfos involved.
    To see it though brings about a much more serious look on the last Summoner's face. "Outside. Outside would be the best place to call him."
    Instead of, you know, in the temple.

    Ah! Called out for being childish! Terra takes a weird sort of comfort from Zelda's prodding. Childish is more normal than she's ever felt so perhaps that's a step in the right direction. Okay! Then Rydia's comeback. She covers her mouth to hide her mirth but it's as plain in her eyes as the smile she's concealing.

    "Thank you, again." She looks to Rydia once it's made clear what Zelda was requesting. Perhaps not so private as her previous visit here. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help with that." Picking a fight with a preachy freight train can do that to a person.

    Then she's singled out herself! She freezes, momentarily at a loss as her brain scrambles back to the present, "I, um, yes. I mean, sorry. I meant to visit more but I was- And you've been so busy that-" She spreads her hands, gesturing vaguely as if grasping at words. "Not at all! You've all been so kind. I feel like I should be doing more to help you all and no, really, you've been so busy! I've been fine." Even if she's creeped a couple or few workers out by staring in their direction too long.

  "Sometimes it's easy to forget that." Zelda's comment is soft. "Yes. Well, no. In a manner of speaking. I wanted to study the beast for myself. There are no experts on them. They're elusive man-eaters, and it's hard to say whether they themselves or their habitat is more a danger to a would-be naturalist."

  Pushing herself to her feet, the princess shrugs out of her robe, hanging it on a stone hook jutting from the wall. Retrieving a pile of neatly folded clothing, she proceeds to shed the ceremonial dress and put on something more ordinary, and a good deal warmer. Zelda has already proven she's not especially modest; what's more, these two have both seen her at her worst. She has nothing to hide from either of them.

  Not even those scars that Copen had left, broad stripes of scarring where the bullets had grazed or ripped into her. They're like the gifts that keep on giving; in the cold and the damp, their ache is a reminder -- to never let her guard down like that again.

  Once she's gotten herself into riding clothes, the princess unplaits her hair, shaking it out and fishing a comb from a pocket, absently working on her damp hair as she makes her way to the door. "Yes. Outside. And Link is of no use to me in this endeavour. The sum total of his knowledge is how best to kill the creatures, while locked in the form of a beast not wholly unlike them."

  Tugging her tunic into place, Zelda holds the door open for the other two before padding through the corridor. It's a great deal warmer and tidier, not to mention airier and lighter after the improvements -- it's finally not freezing any more, which is in and of itself an improvement.

    Oh that is a cheeky little smile that spreads across the Summoner's face. But it vanishes as quickly as it appeared as the princess gets to the core of the matter. "Has anyone ever caught a live one before?" She asks as curiosity gets the better of her. But then the girl shakes her head.
    "No, don't be sorry, you needed to recover." Rydia says firmly to Terra. "Especially after what that bastard did. I wasn't going to drag you out of bed still reeling from that just because I wanted something. I had enough help anyway."
    But then it's time to get a move one and Rydia turns her head, giving Zelda a modicum of privacy as she changes into clothes more appropriate for the weather outside, but... Green eyes sublty linger on the scars marking the princess' body. Marks left by a vicious and hateful killer- a man the likes of which none of them would be likely to forget for years, even if they managed to ever fully escape him.
    Rydia shudders visibly as she recalls that Copen had stalked *her*. It's a chilling revelation that almost makes the child wobble and faint right where she stands, but she rallies herself with a slow and steeling breath. She decides to move on.
    She's safe here.
    At least, she feels safe in Snowpeak.
    "Link's an expert in his own way. His very violent, big green wolf way." She agrees, tugging her own robes tighter on the way out to the hall and out.

    Seeing Zelda's scars has Terra tugging lightly at the upper part of one of her detached sleeves where the fabric rests against a freshly healed scar of her own. She lucked out, it would seem. "Noone has studied these creatures at all?" Much like Zelda, the half-Esper seems to have little regard for nudity. Noting Rydia's own turn, though, she finds herself wondering if she should.

    "I- I suppose you're right." Her own thoughts dwell on that man, or perhaps what pain could have made him that way. There's always a reason, right? No matter one's inexusable actions. Her thoughts table themselves for a moment as Rydia shudders and she moves to hug the small girl one-handed. That anyone so young could be subjected to so much. It stirs something in her that she'll spend quite some time contemplating, going forward.

    "That's... Ah, he seemed nice. Tense, perhaps. He's..." She pauses, trying to think of a way to articulate her thought but it falls short. Anyway, Zelda seems to be ready. So she nods and moves to follow. The fresh breeze might do some good! "Would you like my cape?" She looks to Rydia, unable to ignore the way the feisty summoner buttons down to resist the evening chill.

  "Not to my knowledge." Zelda shakes her head a little, although she tilts it sideways, still quickly and efficiently combing out her hair as they go. "It's a dangerous proposition on the best of days. They're vicious creatures. They also have a known liking for the flesh of Hylians."

  Folding her arms, the princess leans back against the wall behind her, tucking her hands into her sleeves. "In other words, it's suicidal on the best of days to try to work with creatures like that. Some say they're touched by the Triforce of Power... those and other creatures like them; corrupted and twisted from ordinary animals." She shrugs. "I don't know what the truth is."

  Oblivious to the others' recollection of the one who had given her those scars, she folds her arms a little more tightly. There's still a little sun left in the courtyard. "I should bring my horse out here when we're finished," she sighs. "Some exercise would do him good. I suppose a /name/ would do him good, too. I feel a bit poorly that I haven't had the time to consider it..."

    "So what you're saying is. We're the first in all of ever to try and tame one of these things?" Rydia muses. Tame is a loosely used term here, she forcibly has the Wolfos bound under her as a Summoner, and she's not quite sure hoe effective that is, at all. It's a tenuous path to tread, alternating between magical control over the beast and trying to train it, and it's no easy task in either direction.
    Well that's still an accomplishment though. "I wanted something to call on other than the Eidolons in a pinch. I have Whyt, too but I wanted more of a heavy hitter. ... Still, I don't want him turning on me, so I've been taking my time with trying to establish my dominance. Let him know he's not the Alpha anymore. /I/ am." The girl says by the time they reach the courtyard. She spends a breath or two just watching that little bit of sun over the walls, before she makes for the main gate and pulls it open.
    Bringing two fingers to her lips the girl lets out a sharp whistle that echoes across the mountains for a moment. And a moment later, the Wolfos comes.
    The massive lupine form bounds down the path, large paws acting like snowshoes and letting it seem to almost glide over snow, slowing and only coming to a halt once through the gates, eyes wild and baleful, it snarls...
    Until Rydia's hand pointedly edges toward her whip, earning a chuff of irritation from the beast as the much smaller girl- that it could easily snatch up in its jaws- asserts her position over it, just like she said.
    "I'd suggest not bringing that horse of yours out until after I've sent him away. Don't want him thinking that thing is food and learning the hard way about who would eat who."
    That horse would do it, Rydia is pretty sure of it.

    And here is where Terra is rather unsure of things. Summoning has become this impressive, strangely compelling feat to her. She's not even sure why, though the thought of it makes her hug herself as her mind wanders. At least she's not totally clumsy while walking and distracted. A glance goes to Zelda, though. Brushing hair on the go and after getting dressed so quickly. Truly the hallmark of someone used to multitasking. She's not jealous though, certainly not. Nope.

    Upon making the courtyard, she stands back, lingering close just in case. "Corrupted, dangerous animals. I- Remember there are some varieties of animal that are quite aggressive." A necessary preparation to make for a soldier in the field! Even one as well equipped as she was. Though she doesn't enumerate the ones that immediately occur. Bunnies and moogles are far too cute to be dangerous, surely. Yet another thing to reflect on later.

    Then, the wolfos arrives and she holds her breath. She'd only hear the things from afar. To see one- It's a bit startling, almost as much as Rydia as she asserts control over the beast. "Is... Is a horse that big?" She's likely /seen/ the horse. But the menace the wolfos exudes no doubt makes it seem bigger. "But- I thought horses only liked apples and grass." So THAT's where the apples have gone.

  "Statistically speaking, we're probably not the first," Zelda points out. "But we are, hopefully, the most successful. They have a reputation for being intractable, taken to the extreme. In fact, I wonder if we shouldn't just wait on this until you've had more time to establish your--"

  --Dominance.

  There it is, plain as day, its pelt almost glittering in the early evening sun, as though there were ice crystals in its fur. Its eyes are a lurid red, and its mouth stretches wider than a wolf's ought to, like the impossible rictus of a skeleton.

  Zelda stares, although she's quick to avert her eyes from the beast's, lest it be seen as a challenge.

  "I never said I was going to bring my horse while this thing is in the courtyard," Zelda asides, quietly, being careful not to make any sudden movements. "Really. Just because I'm not a summoner doesn't mean I'm an idiot when it comes to working with animals." The princess snorts, good-naturedly. "I've worked with horses all my life. Sometimes I think I can handle them better than I can people."

  There's a short pause.

  "...I think it would be a pretty equal match, though."

    Summoning is not all calling Eidolons and beings of great power from other realms. Sometimes it is as simple as binding a monster, pressing it into service, and training it to be a proper companion. Like this.
    Yes, there he is, though... So large, rippling with lean muscle under bristling fur, and now faced with not just the tiny Summoner that has been exerting her will over him, but two other young women that he would likely be more keen on eating than meeting.
    The Wolfos leering rictus grin only seems to spread wider as it glances between Terra and Zelda. Zelda smells Hylian, meat he has no doubt tasted before, but Terra is something novel and different, and...
    And then Rydia plants herself more in-front of the two, baring her teeth and growling in her throat. The sound is a growl, but coming from her it sounds more like a wolf pup than a full grown adult as she keeps the beast's attention on her and establishes the boundary that the two are not to be devoured.
    "Just keep behind me, don't make any sudden movements, don't look him in the eyes, and I should be able to keep him from eating the three of us. ... Most likely." Rydia says over one shoulder. "I've been training him alone, I haven't acclimated him to anyone or anything else yet so it could go either way."
    For a girl so small, Rydia is intensely serious about the danger and threat in the moment around a still mostly-wild monster. "Yes, I know you're not an idiot, but I don't want to go hunting another wolfos if your horse decided he wanted a meal." She adds a little levity to the moment- and possibly adding confusion the apple question.

Either because she's less wise or simply weird, Terra finds herself unable to do anything but look directly at the wolfos. It's not that she's scared- she isn't, really at all. She's insctively tense in the presence of such a creature. It's just especially fascinating for some reason!

    Lost in the moment, it's only a few beats later that she realizes her mistake, "Don't look at its eyes? Oh-" Then Rydia does indeed pepper the moment with a bit of confusion. What does the horse liking apples have to do with a large, dangerous wolf-animal anyway? No, no, that's not important is it!?

    Though she's unable to discard the thought, she does find that she's slightly alarmed by the sudden growling. Rydia's growling, to be exact. She looks down, "Are- Is this how you talk to it?" A hand comes up to cover her mouth, though Zelda may be able to see sidelong that she's toying with baring her teeth as if she may need to growl at something someday. Nobody said she wasn't weird.

  "I can always give him a taste of the light of Her Grace, if he decides I look tasty." Zelda's voice is low, and her half-smile as she watches the monster turns a little hard. "I am never truly defenseless... but I trust you to hold him."

  The creature listened in the first place, so that suggests it has some kind of respect for the Summoner of Mist. It hasn't tried to eat the girl yet. Not that she knows of, though.

  "Dogs perceive eye contact as an act of aggression," she explains for Terra's benefit. "Eye contact is a challenge. By meeting their eyes, they'll take it as a challenge, yes?" Zelda is thoughtful as she half-watches the beast, always careful never to look at those glowing, red eyes. "This is a big one. Almost as big as the one my royal father killed, when I was only a girl... well done, Rydia."

  She lifts her gaze to the monster. "You made a wise choice, creature," she comments, softly, right hand flexing absently and unconsciously. It's the same hand that hosts the Triforce of Wisdom. Her brows are furrowed slightly, expression thoughtful.

  Can it understand her? She has no idea. But a little respect doesn't hurt.

  Her eyes flit back to Rydia. "Are you going to give him a name?"

    "Eye contact, showing teeth, pinning ears back. They're all signs of challenge and aggression- so try not to smile." Rydia adds, confirming Zelda's assessment for Terra. She still has her whip in hand, and the Wolfos' own growl lessens in intensity for the moment.
    "Not exactly talking... It's a monster, it can't communicate like that." She explains to the Half-Esper, "But if you look at his body language it's telling enough to communicate that way. Look how his tail is held low between his legs, that's normally a sign of submission. ... But he's faking it because he's still showing teeth and has his hackles raised." She points out several characteristic cues of a canine battle for dominance.
    "Mm. He's big. And he knows he's big. I'm not sure about a name just yet though, but I'll try to be a little more creative than 'Wolfos'." She replies to Zelda, keeping her own gaze solidly fixated on the beast's glowing eyes. At least until it turns its head nd snarls louder, snapping at the princess' direction when her gaze rises and she speaks, jaws clackling audibly in the air as he decides to choose this moment to be uppity.

    "A-ah. Right!" So don't look at it at all, or try not to. Terra decides to keep her eyes anywhere but the wolfos, though it's really hard not to peek at the thing what with the racket it's making. She shuffles her feet and clasps her hands together, doing her very best to not just... move around a lot. Easier said than done when you're conscious of it!

    "So you just have to hope it sends the right signals." Okay, so not so different from communicating with people? There's just no words. A glance is spared to Zelda suddenly, though if she has anything further to say right this moment she keeps it down. "It's still very impressive! That you've managed to take it from being so angry to..." Her gaze immediately goes back, glancing at the creature's eyes. She can't help it! "Ah, it still seems angry." If she had an ounce of snark to her there is where she might crack wise but no, really, she was sort of blindly fishing for a way to praise Rydia and it fell flat. We'll blame the dog.

  "They know when they're the alpha. They have to have confidence, or they'll only be usurped by the next biggest, next meanest beta," Zelda murmurs, glancing briefly toward the Summoner. "I'd be surprised if a beast that big weren't aware of his power. Some say that the Wolfos and their subspecies are a result of the Triforce of Power's influence, but nobody knows for certain--"

  The White Wolfos shows its teeth and snarls at her. Zelda considers this for about half a second before straightening, taking a purposeful step toward it, though still behind Rydia. And in reply she /snarls/; pulling deep down for all the rage and defiance she'd felt while she'd been fleeing Zant's forces. A flicker of deep, autumn blue crosses her eyes; a flicker of something like gold through her hair, as though it were just a trick of the lighting. But it isn't.

  Know your place, cur. The thought is like a ringing hammerblow, pure understanding rather than words, a form that even the monster would understand. Stand down, whelp, or you'll taste her power, and that power is greater than you can know.

  Zelda stares for several long seconds, eyes hard, as though to drive her point home. A touch of dinivity still lingers in her gaze, dark blue like a shadow flickering across her normally gentle eyes. A flicker of that divine light plays across her hair, a bloom of inner light so faint that it could be imagination as much as reality.

  The Wolfos and its ilk are still beasts of Hyrule, and even the beasts seem to instinctively know Hyrule's gods. Hylia is not the strongest of the pantheon, but she is instantly recognisable. She is the Goddess of Light worshipped by Hylians since time out of mind. It may not be that she's a deity any longer, but her influence is still felt in the current age. And her descendants still wield that influence with great power... when the need arises.

  Bluffing the monster so she doesn't get eaten by the monster is a pretty solid motive. It's debatable whether she actually could kill it before it ripped out her throat, but she could ensure her final moments were spent heaping as much agony on the beast as possible.

  Primly, the princess adjusts the lay of her coat, eyeing the Wolfos from a lidded stare, not unlike the practised indifference of a cat.

  "Sorry to steal your thunder, Rydia, but a point had to be made." The princess glances back to Rydia, pointedly looking away form the Wolfos, as though to suggest she isn't afraid of it. Actually, she's very much wary, and only an idiot wouldn't be afraid; she's still watching it from the periphery of her vision. "Creatures like these are called monsters, and cursed by the commonfolk. I don't believe they're as corrupt as all that, but I also don't think it wise to take any chances." Her lip curls in a hard smile, mouth closed and not showing her teeth. "If this thing is anathema to Her Grace, than a taste of power ought to settle him from looking at me like that."

    Even just the slightest glance into those burning eyes turns the Wolfos' attention to Terra now. His tail is no longer tucked between legs, it rises up as he shifts stance from submissive aggression to full out aggression, pinning ears back and flashing fangs at the Half-Esper. Rydia steps forward, whip in hand to try and regain control of the beast fast, but before she can act, Zelda is atop the situation.
    The princess' /snarl/ makes the beast's head snap towards her, already taking a menacing step forward- that falters very fast when that growl is imbued with the force of a divine warning. At first the Wolfos appears baffled. It lasts all of a second before its fur bristles and it backs down, tail tucked between legs.
    Though Rydia turns her head with no warning, teeth bared for a particularly fierce little growl at Zelda before returning her attention to the monster as it hunkers down.
    "... Well that went better than planned." She murmurs with a small huff. "... So yeah... You have to hope it sends the right signals."

    Oh no! Terra freezes up as she becomes the focus of the animal's attention! Well, only momentarily but it might have been enough that things could have gotten ugly. Then Zelda...!

    She shies back from the blonde as seemingly every part of her fills with that familiar, daunting presence. "Ah..." Then the aggression is more or less halted. She blushes the tiniest bit, toying with the edge of her cape. She really has to just relax. Deep breath. "Sorry."

    "If you have to guess..." Yet another reason to admire the little summoner, she realizes. A little girl has more steel in her nerves than she does. She steals another glance at Zelda. Both of her companions do, which leaves her nursing just a bit more shame for being so easily intimidated.

  The princess lifts her chin in apparent surprise when the little girl growls at her. She even takes half a step back and lifts a brow, but more out of surprise than fear. She doesn't comment; even as that flicker of divinity leaves her. She can guess, though. It wouldn't do to have her authority upstaged by the White Wolfos.

  "When he gets over himself, he should be a good companion. That may take some time, though." Zelda reaches up to scratch at the back of her neck, frowning thoughtfully. "I suppose we have plenty of that, for the time being. An errand in Faron Wood is our next destination, far to the south, but it will have to wait until the repairs are finished here."

  She considers as she watches the White Wolfos sulk. "There is one option left to try to restore Link to his rightful form; a relic of such potency and power that there is only one in all the world who can wield it. It was made by my divine ancestor in the earliest days of this land's history, before Hyrule was Hyrule: The Blade of Evil's Bane, the Master Sword." Zelda's mouth twitches, but it's hard to say what emotion moves it. "There is no curse and no evil that it cannot dispel. For all our sakes, I hope that isn't wrong."

  Folding her arms, she tilts her head the other way, watching the White Wolfos, lost in thought and apparently oblivious to Terra's discomfort. "Perhaps we can find you another Wolfos there. Further south from these mountains, there are other sorts of Wolfos. The type that live in the forests are grey, sometimes silver, and they have eyes like green fire. From what I understand they're not as big as your friend, here, though."

    That is a good guess as to why Rydia gives the priness a serious snarl, teeth bared and and everything. But once the moment- and the Wolfos have calmed down, the Summoner hisses and points for the gates of the manor. "Shoo! I'll call you when I need you!" She barks at the beast and it turns, sulkily, padding out Snowpeak.
    Tiny shoulders rise and then fall in a heavyily heaved sigh. "He's going to be a lot of work." She says in regards to how much time it'll take, as she coils her whip and looks to Terra. "You okay?"
    But then she purses her lips. "The Master Sword is there? It'll bring Link back to his true form? That's as good a reason as any to look for it. ... But I think one Wolfos is enough for me, he's already a handful and I have no idea how to manage a pack. I can barely manage you adults."