#sorry I don't have the time or energy to format the entire fic for Tumblr 😭

[hero-of-the-wolf]

The plan had been to split up, scout around the area, and meet back up within a few hours. It had quickly become their routine when passing through a portal and entering a new world. Get their bearings, search for monsters, and regroup.

Except this time, when the appointed hour came and went, less than half of their group showed up.

Twilight couldn’t help but worry. He walked the perimeter of their camp over and over again, worst case scenario after worst case scenario running through his mind.

“Do you think something happened to them?”

“I don’t know, Twilight,” Legend replied tiredly. He’d been in a bad mood all day, even before they’d all split up, and had sat down on a nearby log almost as soon as he’d arrived. Now he was massaging his forehead like he was nursing a headache. “But pacing around like that isn't going to help anyone.”

Twilight stopped abruptly, looking around the little clearing they’d set up camp in for what felt like the hundredth time. A little ways away, Wild and Hyrule were still huddled together, discussing something with great interest. Past them the forest was unnaturally quiet, almost as if nature itself was holding its breath.

It was hard not to worry.

What if they were in trouble? What if they needed help? What if something had happened to all five of the other heroes, and they were waiting for backup that wasn’t coming, and—

“Link.”

He gasped softly, looking over to see Legend watching him with a worried frown. When he saw he had the rancher’s attention he patted the spot on the log next to him.

“Come sit down. Let’s take a minute to breathe, and then we can think of a plan, okay?”

Twilight relented, sitting down next to the veteran with a soft grunt. Maybe sitting wouldn’t hurt, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.

“Hey, rancher—”

An arrow suddenly whizzed across the clearing, firmly embedding itself into the log between Twilight and Legend’s legs. They both leapt up to their feet, drawing their swords with practiced ease as several unfamiliar monsters rushed out of the surrounding forest.

“Ambush!” Hyrule cried out, rushing to grab his own sword as Wild flipped out of the way of a strike, grabbing his bow from where he’d left it on the ground and using it to whack the unsettling wolf-like beast back.

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