Midna yawned, bored out of her skull as she rested, hiding in Link’s shadow. The two had been travelling the lands of Hyrule, working their way toward the Castle Town. The imp was growing used to the tedium of travel. She had tried to strike up conversation with the Hylian boy several times, but he was a terrible conversationalist, usually answering questions with one word answers or simply nodding his head.

She sighed, scratching her ear. The simple fact was that other than the occasional battle with random creatures or trip through obscure trap filled dungeons, most of their time was spent on horseback, trotting across the plains. As much as Midna liked the landscape, she much preferred her home of the Twilight Realm.

Link grunted in annoyance from the saddle, and Midna looked up, wondering why the hero had reined in the horse. As she looked around, she spotted a group of Shadow Beasts had dropped out of a portal from above. Link hopped down from Epona, grimacing at the idea of having to fight the mbumive creatures en mbume. From a sheath on his back, he drew the Master Sword, hearing the metal ring like the chiming of a bell as he took his fighting stance. Midna frowned deeply, watching the monsters that her former people had become.

The first creature came at Link fast, its ebon claws outstretched, its tentacles trailing behind it like dreadlocks. Link slipped aside, his silver blade flashing in the evening light as he slashed at it. It dodged back, but Link thrust forward, impaling it through the sternum. With a shout, he leapt off the ground, drawing the blade up with him, cutting it in half. In midair, the hero flipped and came down on the next Beast, which had approached while he was busy with the first. The Master Sword flashed as he came down, impaling it. He drew the blade free with a flourish.

But the final Beast caught Link off guard. As he looked around for it, it attacked from behind. Only a shout from Midna alerted him to it, and just barely in time. Link wheeled about, leaning to the side, as the monster’s claws slashed at him. Unfortunately, his dodge wasn’t fast enough, and he yelped in pain as the sharp talons tore through his tunic, cutting his side. Link, being the master swordsman that he was, didn’t miss a beat. He focused through the pain, wheeling around in a spin cut, his blade whirling three-hundred sixty degrees, before cutting through the Beast.

The bodies of the creatures vaporized, and Link panted heavily, clutching his injured side. Midna manifested herself from his shadow, looking concerned.

“Link… Are you okay?” she asked, floating before him. Link let of his injury, letting Midna see it. The creature’s claws had left four bloody cuts on his side, staining his tunic.

“You need to bandage that. We should find a place to set up camp as soon as possible!” said the imp, frowning deeply. Link nodded in acknowledgement, sheathing his blade. He soon found a stand of trees where he could camp safely, without worrying about creatures attacking. Night was falling quickly so the boy created a fire, then flopped back against a trunk, pulling off his tunic to get a better look at his wound. It was not as bad as he thought at first, but the cuts were fairly deep. He reached into his pack, pulling out a bandage and various medicinal herbs.

“That looks bad… With that type of injury, traveling by horseback won’t be easy. I think after you bind it, I should shift you into wolf form. It’ll allow us to keep moving at a quick pace, while taking pressure off your wound,” said Midna. Link nodded in agreement, gasping in pain as he pressed some of the plants to the cuts, and then wrapped a strip of cloth around his waist, and making sure it was bound tight.

He nodded to Midna once he was sure the bandage would hold, and she used the curse shard that Zant had imbedded in Link earlier in their adventures. The shard glowed, and black light enveloped the hero, obscuring him from view for a moment. When the light cleared, a wolf was in his place. Link shook his head, disoriented for a moment by the change. He looked back at his flank, and Midna walked up, checking the bandage.

“Looks like the bandage held up through the transformation. Tomorrow, you should be in much better shape to travel,” said the imp, tugging on the fabric a little. Link nodded, and curled up by the fire, giving a weary growl. He closed his eyes, sighing heavily as he drifted off to sleep. Midna floated over to him, and landed softly beside him. She sat down and leaned back against his furry flank, sighing herself as she closed her eyes, resting.